Though the analysts believe this aggressive recruitment drive would work in the fortunes of a united opposition at the polls, some are however of a much wary mind this could be the very thing to poison the well for a stronger bloc. The political pundits observe that if the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) partners – Botswana National Front (BNF) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) in particular – do not rebuild their own structures and take advantage of the insatiable BPF's appetite that is eating into the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) pie, it would be left exposed, as the BPF could very well turn on the opposition bloc for more.
The move, according to the analysts, could also help revive some collapsed UDC structures, while ensuring BPF dominates the Central District, which might be a guarantee for more constituencies in the north for the party, if not the coalition. Veteran journalist and political commentator, Thapelo Ndlovu said the BPF is killing two birds with one stone, disarranging BDP, especially in the Central District, while building bargaining power in opposition politics. “The UDC affiliates, especially BCP and BNF, who are seemingly complacent now, are likely to be bellowed into action to protect their strong areas as well as build new ones. This could be a positive outcome for the BPF campaign drive as it might rub off the other parties and the gains could be consolidated towards the elections,” Ndlovu said. “It must also be observed that the BPF recruitment is a classic counter-attack when BDP was strongly encroaching into the opposition side.
