PPP supporters are paranoid over the candidacy of Asgar Ally and now leader of the Guyana Democratic Party (GDP) for the presidency of Guyana in elections due later this year. PPP supporters and the party itself appear very worried that Ally's candidacy will lead to a division of the Indian voters. And this, they fear, could result in the PPP being denied an absolute majority in the legislature and or worse, his candidacy will siphon enough votes from Dr. Jagan to make it possible for Desmond Hoyte and the opposition PNC to win a plurality of votes and the presidency.
Anytime a new party is formed. there is always the old cry wolf slogan: "They are dividing the people." This traditional thinking is deeply rooted in the "Apaanjhat" politics of the past and inevitably it prevents new ideas and new leaders from emerging to cleanse the system. One is reminded of a similar PPP's reaction to the formation of Balram Singh Rai's Justice Party and Hoosein Ghani's Guyana United Muslim Party in the 1960s (neither of whom are saints) and the PNC's reaction to Rodney's Working People's Alliance in the 1970s. Rodney was successful in bridging the major races when he was cut down by the Burnham assassins in 1980 and since then Guyana has never recovered from the racial animosity. Ally is no Rodney but like Rodney he is trying to effectuate a change in guyana, especially in the way it should be developed and the managerial staff, if nothing else.
The charge that Ally is "dividing the voters" is a veiled reference to him having a special appeal among (Indian) Muslims that will enable him to win over Muslims like himself who otherwise would vote for the PPP. This attack on Ally suggests that the govemment is tackling the race issue under the table rather than address it openly. The PPP effectively argues that it is not an Indian based party but at the same time it will not tolerate any Indian politician who tread into Indian territory for fear of lolling Indian votes. One recalls that in the 1960s, the PPP had a similar fear when Ghani entered into the electoral fray; but his threat to the PPP failed to materialize as GUMP did not garner enough votes to win a seat. No one can deny that it was a Ghani's intention in the 1960s to divide the Indian votes by weaning Muslims away from the PPP so as to prevent Dr. Jagan, for whom he had contempt, from winning a majority of votes to form a govemment. But Ally is different.
Unlike Ghani, Ally is not seeking to divide Indians to prevent Jagan from achieving a victory He is not a devout Muslims. He has not confined his campaign to Muslims in particular. And the GDP which he leads is not a Muslim or an Indian party. It is true, however, that Ally has virtually no support among Afro-Guyanese and according to a recent poll I conducted, his 5.5% voting strength is confined largely among Muslims and home town supporters in the Canal area. Bul I feel that as the election approaches amidst a racially charged campaign, his support will diminish and he will be wiped out from the political scene just like Ghani before him. The lessons of DLM's Tennassee and URP's Ramsammy, both of whom have a distinguished record of anti-PNC bravery, are instructive here.
Some people compare Ally's formation of a party with Balram Singh Rai in that both were ministers of Jagan's government and both were potentially his deputy. They both had a fall out with the leader that led to each forming a new political party. The PPP is responding the same way it did to Rai. And Rai, like Ghani, failed to win a seat and many feel the same fate awaits Ally because Indo Guyanese take one leader at a time and they have had a long history of not experimenting with a new leader as long as the charismatic Dr. Jagan is alive. Indo-Guyanese, like their Afro-Guyanese counterparts, are resistant to change and it will he difficult for any party to break the prison of race that Guyanese find themselves in unless that party invents a Rodney.
The PPP and its erstwhile upporters are focusing too much on the Ally phenomonon thereby making him a bigger candidate than he really is; his threat to the PPP is largely exaggerated. But the real issue in defense of Ally, is not whether he is dividing the Indian votes or is posing a threat to the PPP. Rather it is his democratic right to run for office in Guyana' s newly found democracy without having been condemned as a divider of the Indian votes. In the new politics everyone has a right to run for office even under an Indian or African party.
Ally will not win the coming election but his candidacy helps to expose the weaknesses of the two major parties. Hopefully his candidacy will help to hasten the demise of the old race-based politics of the past and free up the political system. For having the courage to challenge the old order he should he applauded.