PESHAWAR: Differences among the workers of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are deepening with each passing day as general elections are drawing nearer, according to sources.

The insiders said that most of the senior workers of PPP were demanding of the leadership to hold intra-party elections and award tickets to sincere candidates, belonging to middle class, for the upcoming general polls.

They said that internal rift existed in almost every district chapter of PPP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as its workers felt deprived mainly owing to what they called the irresponsible attitude of party’s ministers.

“The disgruntled workers have joined hands and started holding protest demonstrations against their leaders in their respective areas,” insiders said. They said that party leadership was assuring the workers that tickets would be allotted on recommendations of parliamentary board but at the same time it had started bringing people into the party fold on the condition that they would be given tickets of their choice.

In Peshawar, PPP Workers Ittehad set up a protest camp outside press club on Tuesday against the party’s decision to give tickets to the sitting MNAs, MPAs and ministers for the upcoming general elections.

“We are ideological workers. We say that party’s affairs should remain in the hands of sincere, devoted and ideological people,” Nazneen Bacha, a leader of the disgruntled workers, told Dawn. He said that PPP was hijacked by timeservers and selfish people, who had nothing to do with the future of the party. Those people wanted to serve their own interests, he alleged.

Mr Bacha said that PPP leadership had given free hand to the elected representatives, particularly the ministers, who failed to pay attention to the problems of workers during the last five years. “We will continue our protest unless the leadership assures us that tickets will be given to ideological workers,” he said, adding that PPP provincial leadership nominated different office-bearers without consulting the workers.

Mr Bacha demanded of PPP leadership to hold intra-party elections or nominate people for different offices in consultation with workers of the relevant areas.

“I believe that all the sitting office-bearers will be rejected if intra-party elections are held,” he said. He alleged that MPs focused on accumulation of wealth and did nothing for the party during the last five years. He said that organisational structure of PPP was next to nil in all the districts as the party was divided into groups. “We are in contact with all ideological workers across the province and they are ready to contest elections independently if party tickets are not allotted to them,” he said, adding that middle class should come forward to restore the PPP of Bhuttos.

However, PPP provincial coordination secretary Syed Ayub Shah, when contacted, said that workers should not damage the party because of the attitude of some ministers and MPAs. They should apprise the leadership of their grievances, he added.