CHP promises to be the party of the poor

Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), had already voiced his election target as 35 percent of the votes, nearly 10 points more than the party received in the 2011 polls, meaning he has to find an additional 6 to 7 million of votes to achieve his goal.

With this objective in mind, K?l?çdaro?lu and his team have developed a precise strategy to reach out to new social classes, mainly composed of lower income groups in society. 

The problem the CHP faces, however, is the fact that a considerably large portion of these classes are voting for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), for two main reasons. First, they have been provided with social aid for years from both the government and AKP-run municipalities, creating a sort of dependence on the ruling party. The second aspect, however, is more complicated and more sociological, as these low-income, less-educated groups are always closer to conservative and even religious politicians. 

Thus, as the party of the urbanized, well-educated and higher income groups, the CHP is now trying to break this circle and to become the party of the poor and needy. Concrete promises announced by K?l?çdaro?lu on April 19 such as increasing the minimum wage to 1,500 Turkish Liras, erasing credit card debts, pledging extra wages to the retired and more are seen as important messages delivered to these groups. Given that a large part of the 11 million retired people in Turkey are living on less than 1,000 liras per month and that there are masses suffering from poverty, K?l?çdaro?lu's strategy to deal with these specific problems through very simple language and concrete measures seems to be important.  

Along with this strategy to reach out to new groups of voters,...