A woman casts her vote in the by-polls in Ariana village, Charsadda Road. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD IQBAL/EXPRESS
The polls provided Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf with a golden opportunity to win the slot and increase its strength in the provincial legislature.
However, it soon became evident that the by-elections were not a contest between different political parties. On the contrary, it was a competition between the federal and provincial governments as Hayat was a member of PML-N.
It would have been an easy task for a PTI member to win the seat had the government led by the party fulfilled all promises it had made in 2013 and won public support.
Disenchanted
The victory of PML-N candidate against the provincial government clearly suggests there was something amiss in PTI’s strategy.
Both PML-N and PTI have taken positions against each other since the 2013 general elections and a majority of the people had been supporting the latter. However, the result of the recent polls shows that PTI has failed to meet the expectations of the people of K-P.
There are speculations that Adviser to the Prime Minister on Federal Departments Amir Muqam had focused his attention on the constituency. He managed to win the hearts of PK-8 residents by installing electricity transformers. However, residents of the constituency would surely have refused to vote in exchange of electricity transformers had the provincial government paid attention to their needs and delivered its promises.
The district returning officer served a notice to Muqam who was also accused of holding a public gathering in the constituency. But he did what he wanted to.
After the unofficial results were announced, Muqam was quoted as saying, “PML-N’s victory during by-polls at PK-8 reflects public trust in our party”. This appears to be true as there is a consensus among all parties that the by-polls had been free and fair.
Selective change
Although the provincial government had passed several laws, it had failed to facilitate their implementation. This has left people disenchanted with the government.
The PTI-led government’s strategy for change seems to be restricted to GT Road. Meanwhile, little has been done on Charsadda, Kohat, Ring and University roads to attract people and ease traffic gridlocks.
According to locals, vestiges of change have been noticed on GT Road and that too from Motorway Interchange to Firdous stop.
What is more, people are compelled to bring patients to the provincial capital as health facilities in rural areas remain subnormal. Although three years have passed, PTI-led government had failed to alter this situation, tackle the shortage of health experts and provide medicines in most areas of K-P. This speaks volumes about the government and its priorities.
Against the backdrop of a disgruntled community, poor infrastructure and little development, the PML-N candidate, his supporters and party provincial office-bearers were holding repeated gatherings and door-to-door campaigns in the constituency to gather support.
Furthermore, the PTI-led government – that had already fallen out of favour due to its unfulfilled promises – did not campaign much in PK-8. It hoped PTI chief Imran Khan’s gathering would radically change the scene.
While the hype about Imran’s rally caused PML-N workers, officer-bearers and even the candidate to work more diligently than ever, the gathering did nothing to sway public sentiments in their favour.
The PTI-led government still has two years left for its tenure to end. It only has these 24 months to change public perception, address the problems of K-P residents and win their support. These two years will determine whether the party can remain in power for another five years.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2016.
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