When you see people humming the tunes of Jazba-Junoon on their way to the voting booth on 11th May, it won be too hard to guess which party they
e rooting for.
For the first time in Pakistans electioneering history, the masses are witness to much fanfare and participation from local celebrities. Music bands and solo singers, such as Strings and Ali Azmat, with wide fan followings have been openly expressing their support for their party of choice.
Behind the concerts and awe-inspiring speeches of these celebrities, however, hides a big question: does celeb hype reflect the naivety of a society too entrenched in the glamorous world to care about real manifestos? Perhaps not. Political indifference is nothing new in any country, and Pakistan is no exception. Many people from different classes and professions, particularly the young and newly-eligible-to-vote, are not seriously and actively engaged in politics.
Having a celebrity in the party will likely have a direct effect on such politically-disconnected-but-eligible-to-vote people who will be able to identify much better with a particular celebrity rather than a party manifesto.
Alternately, for the politically-aware person, celebrity endorsement for a party will not be much of a factor in influencing who they vote for. "Celebrity endorsements only work for a certain type of voter...those who have a very low engagement with politics," says Dr Ekant Veer an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Canterbury, in an article in a US-based blog publisher Best Thinking.
Though its hard to find statistics validating how many in Pakistan belong to the politically-engaged group, NationMaster, a CIA World Factbook-inspired website on global statistics shows an average of slightly over 50 percent people in selected European and developed Asian countries are somewhat interested in politics.
Given the relatively lower penetration of telecommunication and media in Pakistan compared to more developed countries, this percentage may be even smaller in Pakistan. That makes for a strong case in favour of having celebrities in ones political party. One may argue that the media-unaware will also not know of famous celebrities; but the power of viral marketing and word of the mouth means that quite few would have heard about that much-hyped concert at PTIs Jalsa.
Jennifer Brubaker of the University of North Carolina cites research conclusions in her 2011 paper on this matter: "Only 15 percent (admitted) that they would be positively influenced by Oprahs endorsement of a political candidate and 60 percent (believed) that her endorsement would benefit a candidate."
Brubaker argues that 15 percent is not too significant to reflect on an impact on political movements. But lets not forget that every vote counts in an election, and 15 percent is a vote too many.