For PTI, time is running out
The PTI has committed a series of blunders that has brought about its decline in popularity
Until recently, many among the younger generation of the country saw in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a party they could support. It now seems, however, as if the party is on a decline. Although its chairman claims that PTI’s popularity is still the same or has even increased since the 2013 general elections, the results of the various by-elections and local government polls that have taken place in recent months suggest otherwise.
The reason for such a slump is that the party is losing its uniqueness. Its biggest asset was its youthful supporters. So many of the educated believed in the ideology of the PTI. They believed that the party chairman was different from other political leaders. The youth supported the PTI believing that one day it could provide them with the opportunity to influence a system in which they have never had the option to vote for any party other than the two that had dominated the country’s political scene till recently.
PTI chief firm on keeping party funds a secret
The PTI has committed a series of blunders that has brought about its decline in popularity. The politics of dharna, along with the politics of ‘dhandli’ never seem to end. Almost every one of the party’s claims have been proved wrong.
As the party’s biggest support came from the educated class, this meant that the loyalty of these people would be based on performance and not on the personality or profile of a single individual. What this educated class was looking for was a party with fresh faces and new blood, which is true to its words, and does not take U–turns at every step, like other political parties do. They did not want to see the same old corrupt faces marketed under different labels. The perception is that the PTI has not been able to meet these expectations.
Having said that, not all is lost for the party, and it can still turn things around before the next election. The PTI can win back support in its core constituency within a matter of months by playing according to the wishes of the people, many of whom even travelled from foreign lands to vote for it back in 2013. The party needs to perform in K-P and play the role of a constructive opposition in the National Assembly to win back its core support.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2015.
The reason for such a slump is that the party is losing its uniqueness. Its biggest asset was its youthful supporters. So many of the educated believed in the ideology of the PTI. They believed that the party chairman was different from other political leaders. The youth supported the PTI believing that one day it could provide them with the opportunity to influence a system in which they have never had the option to vote for any party other than the two that had dominated the country’s political scene till recently.
PTI chief firm on keeping party funds a secret
The PTI has committed a series of blunders that has brought about its decline in popularity. The politics of dharna, along with the politics of ‘dhandli’ never seem to end. Almost every one of the party’s claims have been proved wrong.
As the party’s biggest support came from the educated class, this meant that the loyalty of these people would be based on performance and not on the personality or profile of a single individual. What this educated class was looking for was a party with fresh faces and new blood, which is true to its words, and does not take U–turns at every step, like other political parties do. They did not want to see the same old corrupt faces marketed under different labels. The perception is that the PTI has not been able to meet these expectations.
Having said that, not all is lost for the party, and it can still turn things around before the next election. The PTI can win back support in its core constituency within a matter of months by playing according to the wishes of the people, many of whom even travelled from foreign lands to vote for it back in 2013. The party needs to perform in K-P and play the role of a constructive opposition in the National Assembly to win back its core support.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2015.