Re: [Split discussion] Punjab vs rest
While I’m not supporter of PPP at all and I found that they only performed 1% of their capability in Sindh during their last tenure. They did started some good projects. I can talk of my hometown, where they started a new campus of Sindh University, built public parks, renovated schools, reconstructed some roads. My cousin is a contractor for construction projects and during PPP tenure he got so many projects in the districts about session court, schools, hospitals and he was getting timely clearance of his bills. Now, during this tenure the situation is quite opposite.
I don’t see that 1% activity now in Sindh. PMLN’s more efforts are diverted towards Punjab (I don’t have any issue with that), but taking SS on foreign trips and getting agreements signed for projects only in Punjab is the attitude that made people think otherwise and voting on ethnic lines. I have heard many people in Sindh saying that they prefer PPP as other option is nationalists. People are more concerned, who deliver to them more. If PMLN lead governments don’t present example of bias towards small provinces, people might change their mindset of voting on ethnic lines.
BTW, when people say that Punjab elected Bhutto, they might forget that Bhutto played well in chosing electables in Punjab, where voting revolves around Biradri. Shah Mehmood can win on PPP’s ticket or PTI’s ticket says it all.
As far as Bhutto is concerned, he swept Punjab, even the urban areas. It was said that if Bhutto had nominated a pole for some constituency even that got elected, he used electables in rural areas where baradari system is more rampant. Faisalabad which was badly hit by previous PPP regime in federation has been voting in PPP till 2008.