Dr Bharrat Jagdeo is very smart, very sharp, and very quick on his feet. Recognised for his political acumen and strategic prowess, Jagdeo has played a pivotal role in the phenomenal growth of the PPP. His influence on party growth and governance following Dr. Jagan’s death has been phenomenal. There is no equivalent of a Bharrat Jagdeo as a political strategist in Guyana, not in the ruling PPP, and not amongst the opposition. No one can dispute that fact, not even detractors or critics. No one can dispute that Jagdeo is an excellent organizer, campaign strategist, astute tactician, and a shrewd politician. He has very sharp insights and instincts on politics. His contributions to the PPP’s growth and the country’s governance have marked him as one of the most influential figures in contemporary or post Jagan’s politics. He has amassed a reputation as a brilliant, although many say cold-blooded, strategist. Critics say he has an ability to mobilize volunteers and excite supporters as well as donors and activists with a message that makes them seem to want to associate with the party and feel empowered.
Jagdeo has understood the electoral pulse of the nation and crafted a winning strategy. His strategic acumen and organisational skills have been instrumental in shaping the party’s electoral fortunes in 2018, 2020, and 2023.
Jagdeo is credited for shaping the party’s electoral outcome in 2020. In the 2023 local elections, he blazed a trail with his political strategy that surpassed the party’s 2018 surge that won the most local governments in the history of Guyana.
The PPP leader has star power; he is the most powerful person in the country, a formidable politician not easy to defeat. And he has been the brains behind the PPP election juggernaut of 2020 and for the September 1, 2025 election.
No one understands the importance of organizing than him. Jagdeo has always been interested in building the organisation of the PPP to win election. With organization, he engineered a remarkable turnaround for the PPP in 2020 as he did in the 2018 local elections. He has strengthened the organisational base of the PPP; his and Irfaan Ali’s popularity have helped to build a powerful organizational fortress. He is known to emphasize self-consistency and party loyalty; for him, people have to take a side – not stay in the middle.
Jagdeo is extremely skillful, driving fear among opponents or those who seek to challenge him. He developed a reputation for ‘beating’ rivals and opponents in elections. He must have honed his political tactical and strategic skills as a politician from 1992 (appointed as Minister) till 2011 (serving as President from August 1999 till his retirement) when he demitted office. He made a return to politics in 2016, taking over the leadership of the PPP and engineering the no-confidence motion that toppled the PNC from power.
After twelve years as President and five years as Vice President, Jagdeo is omnipresent. He has helped mastermind the extraordinary rise of the PPP and Irfaan Ali to power in 2020. The duo are very close confidants. He is largely credited for Irfaan’s meteoric rise in the PPP; Jagdeo saw in him a hard-working, committed dedicated party worker, a loyalist and a confidante who he could trust.
Jagdeo’s supporters have viewed him as the “great defender of the PPP” and those who dare cross him find a feared adversary. Many of his critics did not want to talk about him openly, saying they genuinely feared him. Some bureaucrats have said they are unnerved by his “seriousness” to get things done.
He is also known for his deep loyalty and affection for party workers and friends as well as supporters, and an unsatiable appetite for hard work. His sharp skills and experience were put to brilliant use at election time.
He has held many public meetings and road shows travelling to different parts of the country. There is usually tremendous excitement about his visit with lots of grass-roots buzz that he is coming to a community. Everyone looks forward to seeing him and taking a photo. During his campaigns, he spoke in a characteristic combative and sure-footed manner. He pushed the party’s poll narrative with development plank and used every opportunity to vehemently countered the opposition’s narrative while showing immense disdain for opposition.
Jagdeo bridges the worlds of economics and politics in Guyana. He has a better idea about development, industries, growing the economy, jobs creation, education, healthcare, empowerment, welfare benefits, access to benefits, and more, intangibles, etc., than most if not everyone in the opposition or even in his own camp.
Guyanese from both sides of the political aisle agree in conversations that Jagdeo is a superb political strategist. The PPP and its supporters are most grateful for the great and invaluable contributions Jagdeo has made to the party and to the election campaigns he has been involved.
