LAHORE-The PPPs Lahore President and Federal Minister for Social Welfare, Samina Khalid Ghurki said on Sunday that she would make Lahore a fortress of PPP in close coordination with old party guards. She presided over a party meeting and unfolded her future line of action to galvanise the party in the City, which has witnessed decline in partys popularity over the years. In 2008 elections, her party won only two National Assembly seats out of total 13 from Lahore. Likewise, it could secure only two provincial assembly seats from the City out of total 24, a sorry state of affairs which is reflective of bad performance of successive local party leaders. In this background, one of partys founding members has advised PPPs new City President to organise party cadres at different levels on ideological basis by taking new political workers from all sections of society. In his view, mere reliance on existing political force was not enough to win more seats in the coming elections by defeating PML-N candidates. Unless the party is structured at Mohalla and UC level with at least 20 committed office holders infused with the spirit of party ideology, the dream of making Lahore a citadel of the PPP could never be materialised, he further commented while talking to The Nation on Sunday. According to him, the new party president is not only facing the tough challenge of mobilising the existing party workers, she would also have to create a new lot of workers taken from amongst all sections of society and organised on ideological basis. He was of the view that PPP would have to create new workers and supporters in the middle and lower middle classes to broaden its existing vote bank. There was need to organise the party on ideological basis, for which, it is imperative that workers should be imparted ideological training by conducting workshops and seminars at UC level, he opined. The new leadership will have to maintain liaison and win the support of teachers, professors, government servants and those working in private organisations if it wanted to strengthen the party before coming elections, he maintained, adding, the party would also have to win the support of trade and labour unions whose support for a political party is vital. Another old party worker from Lahore said that party workers were disillusioned with local party leaders, who have lost their contact with workers and were not inclined to making new voters. He believed that present office bearers at zonal and district levels were not genuine party leaders, as they lacked commitment with the party. The new president has declared that she could spare only one day in a week for party matters, but many think that it is not sufficient time to reinvigorate the party at gross roots level.