Urling believes Jagdeo must be left behind for PPP to move forward

In a Sunday letter to the press, Urling who joined the PPP to campaign for them just before the elections said he has had many opportunities to observe and to interact with several members of the PPP regarding the party’s inner workings and infrastructure and he is surprised that many members do not challenge the former President on anything.

Urling believes Jagdeo must be left behind for PPP to move forward

PPP/C candidate at the recently concluded general and regional elections, businessman Clinton Urling believes that it is time for the People’s Progressive Party to rid itself of former President Jagdeo if it is to move forward and regain its “former political prestige”.

In a Sunday letter to the Stabroek News, Urling who joined the PPP to campaign for them just before the elections said he has had many opportunities to observe and to interact with several members of the PPP regarding the party’s inner workings and infrastructure and he is surprised that many members do not challenge the former President on anything.

“By the time I joined the campaign, it was obvious that former president Jagdeo was the party’s central figure and one easily got the sense that he was the man leading most, if not all, the party’s political and campaign strategies” Urling wrote.

He added that from his observation, the elections for the PPP/C was ‘Jagdeo’s’ to win or lose “considering the central role he played in the campaign and in formulating its strategies.”

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Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

“After the party lost the elections, many in the party seemed to be at a loss about the party’s direction and the apparatus literally stopped functioning for a day or two after the elections, coupled with an information blackout. The Freedom House party headquarters was a ghost town and little was being told to any party candidate or supporter.”

According to Urling, party supporters and candidates were left out in the cold with nothing being said to them about the way forward. He noted while there were whispers about the impact of Jagdeo on the party and him being responsible for the loss, no one said so openly.

” There was no place where I turned that I did not hear party members and supporters whisper and angrily criticize Jagdeo’s divisive campaign rhetoric. The general belief was that under his presidency the party lost its way from being a “wholesome” political organisation which attracted many friends and allies to becoming one where perceptions of impropriety and corruption had created ominous clouds over the party’s image” Urling said in his letter.

He added that for many within the party, “while the loss was disappointing it also presented an opportunity for rebirth, redemption and change in the way in which the party operates. It justifiably should have been the start of a complete break from the politics of Jagdeo and his loyal circle within the PPP.”

According to the businessman turned political candidate, while the loss at the polls could have pulled the party together as many of its top brass wanted, that never happened as Jagdeo took control while being “insistent on shaping the post-elections narrative and was firmly back in command.”

Urling said “many whisper behind his back or choose their words carefully when addressing any forum where he has been included, but none would dare say to him directly how they felt. As I write this, the displeasure that he is still firmly in charge of the party does not sit well with many. However, for reasons I still cannot comprehend, many are reluctant to call him out and challenge him visibly or publicly.”

Urling believes that it will be a difficult task for the party if it continues on the current path with Jagdeo as “de facto leader”.

The former PPP candidate is convinced that the party has to move on without Jagdeo.

Clinton Urling who founded the Blue Caps organisation then left to work on his political future, chose the PPP as the party he needed to throw his support behind.

He quickly became a regular feature for the PPP at campaign events and emerged as one of its national candidates for the elections.

The PPP has won 32 out of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. The party will decide on which candidates from its list will make it into the parliament. It is unclear whether Urling is being considered for one of those seats.

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