Bringing back Jagdeo

The announcement by People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary Clement Rohee that there is a strong possibility that Bharrat Jagdeo could return to the helm of day-to-day politics as this country’s Opposition Leader has ruffled some feathers and made the leadership of the country’s governing coalition apparently uneasy.

Since the disclosure that Jagdeo was favoured as the candidate to take the PPP/C forward following the May 11 General and Regional Elections, ‘anti-Jagdeoites’ have launched a new wave of attacks against the PPP/C.

Leading the cause in this respect are the usual suspects who seek to brand themselves as “nationalists, independent political commentators” and defenders of the Cheddi Jagan’s legacy and the future of the PPP/C.

Included in that group are the usual suspects in the persons of Ralph Ramkarran, Christopher Ram, Freddie Kissoon and social media provocateurs who dance to the tune of the new Government from the word go.

Others are set to follow especially those who ‘left the PPP/C’ allegedly because of Jagdeo, those who distanced themselves from the party because of concerns about corruption and ex-PPP/C Members who are now enjoying favourable relations as Ministers, state officials and sympathisers to the new coalition government.

In their writings and public pronouncements, they are seeking to convince Guyanese that Jagdeo is bad for the PPP/C and that the Party will implode under his leadership in Parliament. They would like Guyanese and supporters of the PPP/C to believe that Jagdeo is corrupt and is solely responsible for some of the problems facing the country at the moment. These individuals also seem very concerned about Jagdeo’s imagined total control over the PPP/C machinery and the make-believe albatross he has placed around the neck of the PPP/C youth and leadership.

For them, Jagdeo is evil and everything he touches will turn to evil because he is unconcerned about the country and its people. In their rush to force public opinion against Jagdeo, they have failed miserably to acknowledge the facts and dynamics surrounding the high levels of popularity and respect that he still enjoys within the Party and outside in face of nasty misinformation, distortions and lies peddled by the mass media especially the Glenn Lall-owned Kaieteur News and Stabroek News.

They refuse to accept the fact that it was Jagdeo who added flavour and colour to the 2011 and 2015 elections campaigns. In both instances, hundreds of thousands of people rallied around the PPP/C and connected emotionally with Jagdeo when compared to other party leaders for a myriad of reasons.

The things he said on the elections platform were on point, accurate for the most part, and delivered strong blows to those, now in Government, that crippled them at various points during the campaign.

It is not hard to believe that a majority of Guyanese from all ethnic and social persuasions would have voted the PPP/C back into power with a parliamentary majority had Jagdeo decided to run for President during the last two elections if there was no term limit.

Additionally, they appear far more concerned about the PPP/C and its future than those who currently sit at its helm and one must ask one’s self why. It could not be because they genuinely wanted the PPP/C in power or part of a shared governance arrangement with the coalition Government. And it certainly could not be because they wanted Donald Ramotar and Elisabeth Harper to lead the Party in the 11th Parliament because they have also hurled reprehensible and untrue propaganda against both of these distinguished Guyanese leaders.

It is clear that they are intent on weakening the Party by evoking subliminal feelings of discord, division and disunity within its membership following the May 11 elections. Their aim appears to be to embarrass Donald Ramotar who has shared a very close relationship with Jagdeo while he was the Party’s General Secretary, its presidential nominee and President of Guyana.

Jagdeo in five years’ time could weaken the Granger’s presidency bringing his Government to its knees. If he re-enters Parliament there would be no politician who could out-think him or out-manoeuvre him if a careful analysis is done of the line-up on both sides.

It is the PPP/C’s democratic right to decide who it should move forward with, following its recent political experiences and concerns about rigged elections. A public vote among the general membership of the PPP/C may very well vindicate any decision by the Party to move forward with Jagdeo.

Jagdeo is far from the monster that some are making him out to be. He is a political animal and having worked most of his life in Guyana and served the people, he appears willing to give his all to his Party and country in the face of orchestrated assaults, brutish propaganda, ungrateful comrades within the Party structures and neo-opportunism that is creeping up among current and former PPP/C supporters and members.

If the PPP/C wants to win another election in Guyana, it might as well bring back Jagdeo to serve in Parliament.