Give Respect to the Vote
A plea from PML-N workers to Mian Nawaz Sharif
By: Chaudhry Shabbir Balochistani
Published By: ANI News Agency
With Senate elections approaching in Balochistan, a fresh wave of defections into the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has begun. Every day brings news of another industrialist, businessman or influential figure joining the party, many of whom have never had even a remote connection with any political party, movement or struggle.
These are people who have never carried the party flag, never raised a slogan at a rally, never marched in a procession, and never stood by the party in police stations and courtrooms. Yet the moment Senate seats came into view, they suddenly saw a bright political future in the PML-N. Is this love for an ideology, or merely a shortcut to a Senate ticket? Every veteran worker in Balochistan is asking this question, and his concern is far from baseless.
**The Parachutist Culture: A Silent Injustice to the Worker**
In politics, a "parachutist" is one who, without years of toil, sweat and sacrifice, descends on the eve of an election and seizes a crop that others have grown. For those with wealth, connections and the ability to manage a few votes, every door in the party is thrown open. Meanwhile, dignified workers who have held the party's banner for years are fobbed off with mere promises.
In Balochistan, this injustice is felt even more keenly. Workers have stood by the party with limited resources, in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions. They stood by it when it was out of power, when raising its flag meant loss rather than gain, and when cases were filed against workers. If, after all these sacrifices, a Senate seat is handed to a tycoon who arrived overnight, it will mean more than the loss of one seat. It will be the murder of the trust and hope of thousands of workers.
**The Worker Is the Party's True Strength**
The worker is the backbone of any political party and its real identity. His perseverance kept the party alive in the harshest of times, his loyalty carried its ideology from generation to generation, and his courage supported the leadership through every trial. Parties are built not by the money of the wealthy but by the sweat and selfless loyalty of their workers. A party that values its workers never grows weak.
**Mian Nawaz Sharif: The Last Hope of Balochistan's Workers**
Today, the eyes of all ideological workers in Balochistan are fixed on the leader of the PML-N, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. Decisions at the local level can fall prey to pressure, recommendations and bargaining, but a single decision by the leader can change the direction of the entire party.
In the last Senate elections, Mian Sahib made an ordinary, long-standing worker a senator and infused the whole party with new energy. That one decision sent a message: hard work is still valued in the PML-N, and loyalty is rewarded. It lifted the spirits of thousands of workers. Today, the worker in Balochistan looks to that same tradition once again and asks: is it still alive?
We should have no hesitation in learning from our political rival. Under Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistan Peoples Party has consistently sent its workers to the Senate and the assemblies. Even an ordinary "jiyala" has found recognition and standing there, and that is why the party has remained alive even in the most testing times. If another party can do this, why can't the PML-N?
**If Your Future Lies with the League, Face the People**
For those who have rushed to the PML-N at the first whiff of a Senate seat, there is an honourable and democratic path: the general elections of 2028. Let the party give them tickets for the National and Provincial Assemblies from constituencies across Balochistan, including Quetta, Khuzdar, Loralai and Zhob, and let them test their popularity in the court of the people.
The Senate route is favoured precisely because it spares candidates from facing the public. There, votes are managed not in streets and neighbourhoods but behind closed doors. How can someone who lacks the courage to ask the people for their votes fulfil the duty of representing them?
**The Way Forward**
The party leadership should set a clear, transparent and publicly announced criterion for Senate tickets, based on length of association with the party, record of struggle and sacrifice in difficult times, organisational performance, and standing among the public. Every worker should be assured that his labour is being noticed. Today, the worker in Balochistan is not asking for ministries. He only wants his years of loyalty to be recognised.
