Whom does Punjab belong to?

Our media pundits always portray Nawaz Sharif as the sole leader of Punjab and PML-N as the dominant political force in Punjab. A closer look at the facts and figures and one can find out that this too is an eye-wash created by the media. For its limited nationwide penetration, PML-N needs steroids of the media to rally its limited base. For this a lot of myths have been created about it, the biggest being its dominance in Punjab.

If results of 2008 elections are anything to go by, N is no where close to the dominant status that we are made to believe. We have taken NA results as a benchmark because the larger constituency size makes them more representative of a district. Here are the facts:

  1. Of 36 districts in Punjab, N one at least 1 seat in 26 districts, PPP won at least 1 seat in 24 districts.
  2. N has more than 50% of seats in 11 out of 36 districts, PPP has more than 50% seats in 9 of 36 districts.
  3. N swept 4 districts, PPP 2.
  4. Of 5 big cities of Punjab, N is far behind PPP in terms of number of seats in Faisalabad (2nd largest) and Multan (4th largest).
  5. In districts north of Okara, N did not win a single seat in 4 districts - of total of 22 districts. For the same area, PPP did not win a single seat in 9 seats.
  6. In districts comprising Okara and South, PPP did not win a single seat in only 2 districts (of total 14 distrcits - almost 40% population of Punjab). In comparison, N didn't win a single NA seat in 6 districts of the same area.
  7. PML-N won 60 NA seats (41%) compared to PPP's 45 seats (31%).
  8. For Provincial Assembly N won 111 seats (37%) compared to 82 seats by PPP (28%).
Above statistics clearly indicate that just when PML-N is the largest party in Punjab in terms of parliamentary presence, it is far from being the dominant force in Punjab.

The media anchors and columnists who are trying to portray Punjab as a one-party province are doing a great disservice to Pakistani Federation on two grounds.
1. It pitches any issue between ruling coalition and PML-N as a clash between Punjab vs Rest (something that is not true based on political map of Punjab shown above).
2. It is undermining the national out-reach of PPP, for now the only national party of Pakistan. Not only that but when it comes to national out-reach (till next elections prove otherwise) even Q has greater national outreach than N.

This smear propaganda coming from the saviors of "Pakistan's ideology" and democrats (like Nusrat Javed and Talat Husain) is, deliberately or unconsciously, a very sinister attempt to make Pakistani political landscape more divisive on ethnic/ regional grounds and must be checked in the larger interest of the Federation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kissa sote jagte ka

Image
The establishment which had our country in her grip for decades is exposed as a result of their infighting. But most surprisingly, the "independent media" is desperate to cover their beloved elements of the establishment (read Nawaz Sharif). Anchors, columnists, spin doctors of PML-N and media in their attempts to cover this mess are creating stories at par with Alif Laila and Kissa Sote Jagte Ka . This Kissa Sote Jagte Ka has signs of their desperation and changing times. It all started with Supreme Court's hearing of petition against Nov. 3 actions of General Musharraf. Supreme Court, partly riding on vendetta and partly on the quest for limelight, in one of its observations on July 29th proclaimed that if Cromwell's skeleton can be hanged after his death, it is time to punish the violators of the constitution in Pakistan. (Below is an image of Express News' next day coverage of Daily Express). Next day, Supreme Court had a complete change of heart ruling they
Read more

An Enigma called Imran Khan

I know this one is going to be the most controversial of all my posts. Yet at the same time I deliberated the most while writing this. This post in many ways is crumbling of the myth of my childhood fascination and idol. If there was anything that I followed like mad in my childhood, it was my hero, my idol, the demigod of my childhood – Imran Khan. I would mimic everything that I found him doing. I would bowl for hours in the scotching heat of June and July in street and in the courtyard. I went ecstatic when I found that he too is a Fish-buff like me. His father, Niazi Uncle (someone I have learnt a lot from, and someone who has always been extremely kind to me), is a good friend of my father and a mentor to me. Through this connection I had the privilege of meeting my childhood idol a few times. When he initiated fund raising for cancer hospital, I was selling tickets at fuel stations, road sides, walkways and shops. When he formed Tehrik -e- Insaaf , I was one of its earliest m
Read more

Bahar Aai (It’s Spring) – Translation of a Poem by Faiz Ahmad Faiz

It is spring And have come from oblivion All the dreams and all the youth That died in quest of thy lips Blossomed are the roses Those fragrant with thy memory And colored with thy lovers’ blood It is spring And erupting are the volcanoes of guilt The grief for friends fallen The mirage of nymphs courted Open is all what laid in an ashen heart Questions unanswered Thine and mine It’s spring And open are the wounds long healed
Read more