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Thursday March 28, 2024

The click factor

By Zaigham Khan
September 18, 2017

How does a politician become a heartthrob for the masses? This is a crucial, and yet one of the trickiest, question in politics. Let’s call this strange phenomenon ‘the click factor’. When a politician clicks with his people, it is like a rocket docking with a space station or two complex parts joining together. Only, it is more complex and impossible to predict because no measurements can be made and no rules of Physics can be applied to guide the process.

I want to discuss two recent clicks – Bilawal Bhutto and Maryam Nawaz. But first some lessons from history. The most spectacular example of the process in our history belongs to Bhutto’s biography. On June 20, 1966, Bhutto sat in the waiting room at Rawalpindi railway station for the midnight train to Larkana. This is how Salmaan Taseer describes the scene in his book ‘Bhutto: A Political Biography’: “The atmosphere was depressing. Just a few days had elapsed since his departure from Ayub Khan’s cabinet …On the day before his departure from Rawalpindi, a tiny one-inch news item appeared in the press: ‘Mr. Bhutto has been allowed by the President to proceed on a long leave for health reasons . . . all indications are that Mr Bhutto will not return to resume duties’ …. It was now clear that Bhutto was in disgrace. The next morning Bhutto was planning to make a stop-over in Lahore to have lunch at the invitation of the Punjab Governor the Khan of Kalabagh.”

The Lahore part was described to me by Masudullah Khan, a veteran journalist: “When I reached the station, the platforms were almost empty. Then suddenly people started arriving. There were so many people that the station looked like a beehive. You could not see anything other than people.”

To quote Taseer again: “They lifted him on their shoulders and carried him out shouting slogans…Their affection, warmth and enthusiasm so moved him [Bhutto] that tears poured down his face as he was carried out of the station. A story popular at the time, and reported in the Urdu press, was that the handkerchief which he used to wipe his eyes was sold later for Rs10,000.” Bhutto had clicked with the people and Pakistan’s politics was never the same again.

Not all clicks are so spectacular or timed so perfectly. Imran Khan had his click moment at the PTI’s Lahore Jalsa on October 30, 2011. This one political gathering turned the PTI into a serious political contender and Imran Khan into a national leader. However, Imran Khan had to wait for this moment for almost two decades.

The generation that had admired him as a sportsman did not consider him worthy of politics. He had to wait till a new generation grew up with their electronic gadgets and identity crisis to hail him as the ultimate messiah of the nation. Late bloomers have always had a place in politics (Ronald Regan became president at 69 and Trump at 70). But if Imran fails to acquire power, he will go down in history as a tragic figure. It must have hurt him when Bilawal taunted him recently by saying that “the next election will be your last and my first elections.” Is there a currency more scarce than time? Unfortunately, we realise this biggest reality of our lives only when a few coins are left in our pockets.

Nawaz Sharif, on the other hand, clicked slowly and silently. His case is like one of those unique relationships that start off as an arranged marriage, but blossom into a romantic relationship. His followers won’t die for him but they can’t do without him either.

Asif Ali Zardari had no chance of clicking with the people. It was like a rocket and a space station manufactured on two different technologies. The docking was not possible to begin with. However, it is hard to live your life under the shadow of two giants – who happen to be your wife and father in law – and not aspire to great things. He tried and wrecked the party in the process. He also resisted handing centre stage to Bilawal, publically belittling and infantilising him. This is what most fathers do and this is the reason why most fathers are hated by their sons.

Now that Bilawal has been unleashed, or so it appears, a miracle is taking place in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There are clear indications that Bilawal has clicked with the people and the PPP is showing signs of recovery. People are not only turning up to his public gatherings, they also appear emotionally engaged. What is most important is that it is a new crowd that involves a good representation of youth. Let’s not forget that middle-class youth are not the only youth in this country. For every young man or woman who can afford an iPhone, there are at least ten others who can hardly afford the cheapest Chinese cell phone.

Bilawal is being guided, or tutored to be specific, by two incredible politicians – Chaudhry Manzoor and Qamar Zaman Kaira. Both these gentlemen are taken seriously within and outside the party because of their integrity, commitment and political acumen. They can feel the pulse of the people and are well suited to the job.

It appears to me that Maryam too has clicked, at least with the people of Lahore. During the campaign for NA-120, we saw that her presence evoked an emotional response in people that is not possible without a click. The absence of her family members gave her a chance to prove her mettle. I am writing these lines a day before elections, so you will be better able to judge this statement on the basis of the election results.

Her cousin Hamza Shahbaz, we know, has failed to click. Apart from a host of other factors, his political advisers did not stop him from presenting himself as a clone of his uncle and that did not help his image. Like his Abbu, he remains a glorified project manager. Our guardians love these technocratic types, but unfortunately people don’t.

I do not agree with Chaudhry Nisar’s worldview but I like all those politicians who disagree with the leadership but stay in the party. Our political parties cannot get democratic without such rebels. He is right in saying that Maryam has yet to go through the test. In democratic dynasties, every generation has to go through the trial of fire.

Contrary to the narrative favoured by our educated middle class, our illiterate electorate are tough on their leaders. They love them the most when they are persecuted and defiant. They make impossible demands on them and value them when are imprisoned or hanged for their sake.

The click means a match. It opens the door to a world of possibilities. However, it does not guarantee a smooth relationship. It is beginning of a lifelong tango with the people. Things can go wrong even after the click. Ask Air Marshal Asghar Khan with whom people had a short-lived love affair. He is Imran Khan’s favourite politician, by the way.

 

The writer is an anthropologist and development professional.

Email: zaighamkhan@yahoo.com

Twitter: @zaighamkhan