I am just curious to know how is the atmosphere in Lahore for tomorrow’s PTI rally. It has a big buzz in the media, but what is the ground reality?
re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
I think Lahore is in for a big show.
re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
I just hope nothing bad happens coz of the stupid Noora khushti brothers!
re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
The Spokesman Pakistan - PTI rally matters - Not just the size
Politically Incorrect
Amir Mateen
This goes without saying that all eyes are set on the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf rally on March 23.
Why? This may be the only obstacle that might block the PML-N onslaught in the central Punjab where the mighty PPP and PML-Q stalwarts are falling as nine pins. It’s not just about the electable fence-sitters joining the Nawaz League. It’s more about the euphoria that it generates in favour of the Nawaz League. A victory in the vast, green swath that straddles between Rivers Indus and Sutlej, or let’s say, between Attock and Khanewal, means governments not just in Punjab but also at the Centre. Here we talk about roughly 107 National Assembly electoral seats that alone should be enough to form a federal government. As the PPP virtually gives up the plains of the central Punjab, the only person who can stop Nawaz Sharif from becoming the Prime Minister is Imran Khan. As simple as that.
And this is why the PTI rally at Minar-i-Pakistan matters. It may just indicate which way the electoral wind will blow this time around. Of course, the size of the rally will matter. The estimates range from hundreds of thousands to millions, depending on which side of the political divide you are. Some say at least half a million people will gather; others claim that the PTI rally will be bigger than Benazir Bhutto’s 1986 rally, which remains an all-time touchstone of public rallies in Lahore. Still other ‘Tehrikias,’ the PTI counterpart for the PPP jiyalas, brag that this will be the biggest-ever rally in Pakistan’s history.
Shafqat Mahmood lends meat to this claim by explaining that nearly 80,000 office-bearers of the PTI are supposed to take oath in the rally. “Imagine if each one of them brings at least ten people along, this will mean one million people, he said, claiming, “most people will bring workers in hordes.”
Well, the PTI has proved its ability to gather huge crowds time and again. There is little doubt that the PTI rally will be big.
It can be big, bigger or the biggest, but the more important question is: What then? The crucial factor will be if the PTI is able to jumpstart its lost momentum through the rally. The party desperately needs to reconnect with masses.
It may have picked up its rhythm a little too early in the race. It lost its steam when it sacrificed popular politics over the strategy of winning the so-called ‘electables.’ It gained a few heavy weights in the party, the likes of Javed Hashmi and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, but the losses on the popular front were perhaps more. This created a wedge in the old and the new leadership. The ordinary PTI workers were found disenchanted, explaining the entry of turncoats like Jahangir Tareen who represents the monopolistic anti-status quo forces.
The PML (N) was quick to point out that the PTI was as good and bad as them. The whole aura of Imran Khan’s politics for change got burst. More important, this brought the skipper to the wicket of the Sharifs. They mastered the art of winning ‘electables’ in the last quarter of a century. It took the small-time cricketer, Nawaz Sharif to hit the skipper with huge sixes, winning over half of the Punjab ‘electables’ from all parties.
Now, Imran Khan may have the chance to restore his earlier rhythm. It is yet to be seen whether he will sway the politics of ‘electables’ back to the class and corruption issues through the rally; whether he makes a majority of his less known, middle class candidates an asset rather than a burden.
Nawaz Sharif has already cast his die by gathering the biggest Punjabi ‘electable.’ It’s obvious that he wants to pursue power politics in absolute disregard to every principle of morality. Plus, he is also handicapped because of the incumbency factor. The PML (N) stands tested in power twice at the Centre and in Punjab, where it ruled for 19 out of the last 28 years. Shahbaz Sharif, despite his bravado and dramatics, has lost his lustre as a great administrator that he projected himself earlier largely because ‘Bhaijan’ was the PM.
The PML (N) definitely soars high in the game of ‘electables.’ But the party can get into trouble if the focus swings to popular politic. The PML-N, if seen from a different prism, seems vulnerable if one interprets politics from the lens of minorities of religion, age and gender. Hindus, Christians and Ahmads may be a small minority but the Shias comprise a big group. And they nurture genuine reservations about PML (N) links with religious fanatics in Punjab. The PTI too is seen as soft on Taliban but Imran Khan’s condemnation of Lashkar-i- Jhangvi may have shifted the Shia ire towards the PML (N). The youth and women may also find Imran Khan more appealing. The Saraikis are obviously unhappy over PML (N)’s initial opposition for their separate province. This might seem simplified as too many imponderables exist before we make our predictions.
The PTI was wrong to get bogged down in the politics of the ‘electables.’ But the PTI may still have a chance to correct its course. Its media campaign showing a labourer becoming a tehsil President is catchy. What if the trend catches up further? What if the non-entities become weightier candidates in swaying moods? What if denies tickets to some of its big-wigs? What if the electioneering turn into swinging politics as in the 1970s?
All of this seems difficult at this stage but the PTI has a chance to correct its course. Definitely, the PTI has drawn attention by involving the workers at the grass roots. But it has some tainted leaders at the top who have to be adjusted. This might just be the biggest test.
However, the buck stops at the rally–and perhaps more at its aftermath. If the PTI is able to create a wave of ‘popularism’ at the beginning of the elections, this might just upset the barometers of our electoral predictions. It’s not easy but the biggest political lesson of the past few years is: big public meetings have a way of swaying our extremely vulnerable public. It’s more about emotions than any concrete realities. Imran Khan faltered for 15 years and then it just took just one big rally for him to click. Tahirul Qadri proved the same thing recently. So we keep our eyes open and fingers crossed. It’s a now-or-never chance for Imran Khan.
re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
One thing is for sure PTI has reignited the spirit for rebuilding Pakistan. At the moment it seems PTI enjoys overwhelming support among the masses both within and out of the country. I hope a new era for the country can begin. At the moment whole social media is abuzz with this jalsa, people have specially travelled to Pakistan from abroad to attend the same.
re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
ali all have to say is
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
At the moment it seems PTI enjoys overwhelming support among the masses both within the country.
this is a big statement and seems biased....why wud you say that? i am legitimately curious...are you saying that every village in central punjab is rooting for PTI?
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
^ we will see, let's wait till the evening. It's a match between ordinary people and electables now.
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
PTI’s ‘make or break’ rally | DAWN.COM
For a while now, political observers have said that Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf chairperson Imran Khan’s ‘tsunami’ has lost steam.
After its dramatic entry on the political stage in a highly succesful October 2011 rally in Lahore, Imran’s stunned opponents were left reeling – as the months went by and general elections drew closer, however, the PTI’s intra-party polls left the party looking inwards, with little time to worry about public campaigning.
Now, with general elections just a few weeks away, the PTI is set for a comeback in Lahore: on 23rd March, Pakistan Day. The hype surrounding the event has been tremendous, and the publicity, stellar. Imran’s jalsa is to take place on a holiday when people’s patriotism is already going to be pumped up, and that too at the Minar-e-Pakistan itself.
The buzz surrounding the upcoming gathering is that this is a ‘make or break’ situation for the PTI. So far, an efficient social media campaign indicates that people from across Punjab are going to attend – and of course, the higher the turnout, the more likely it is to be labelled a success.
On the other hand, it’s been a while that Imran has stood on a stage facing a crowd as large as the one in Lahore, or the one in Karachi in December 2011. The questions being asked by political observers and anxious PTI supporters are, will the rally be as monumental as it has presented itself to be so far? Or will the turnout be disappointing, perhaps confirming fears that the PTI will not perform as well in the general elections as had been previously hoped?
Another angle is, would a good or bad turnout on the 23rd of March even indicate how PTI will do in the polls come May 11, or is the audience not an accurate indicator of the party’s electoral popularity?
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
Has Pervaiz Rashid reached the jalsa gah? After all some one has to count the chairs.
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
I’m watching it live…they have already started the party :shoaby:
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
is there any live stream for this ODI? many thx
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
I shared two links for live stream. Posted from my phone. Why were they deleted?
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
PTI Live Stream - live streaming video powered by Livestream
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
Father & daughter. Together for change!
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/552151_525546340829854_191654861_n.jpg
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
Where are you guys watching it? Most of the news channels are playing utter rubbish
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
every major news channel is bycotting the jalsa...why
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
Junoon will be there to sing Naya Pakistan or I missed it already 
Re: PTI Rally - 23rd March
I am watching it here.