PTI will get ‘sympathy votes’ in upcoming polls

Former Punjab MPAs say PML-N will gain nothing

LAHORE:

As the PML-N celebrated PTI chairman Imran Khan’s arrest, former members of the Punjab Assembly claimed that the ruling party had nothing to gain from the development and the deposed premier’s party would emerge victorious in the elections with “sympathy votes” going his way.

Leaders belonging to upper and southern Punjab from Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and PPP as well as one former PML-N MPA from central Punjab while talking to The Express Tribune agreed that the PTI chief’s arrest would not dent the popularity of his party.

They said the PML-N’s worries would not subside with this arrest and ruled out the “level playing field mantra”.

They claimed that the PML-N government was up against itself, while PTI would only end up gaining more sympathies from the people.

One of the ex-MPAs from southern Punjab claimed that allowing Imran to live his life in a corner would have dented his chances of staging a comeback.

“This will only put him [Imran] back in a position of power on the chessboard and give stimulus to the PTI support base, which so far kept a low profile because of the obvious threat of arrests,” the former provincial lawmaker added.

A former MPA, on the condition of anonymity, said the PTI chief’s arrest in Pakistan had only given legitimacy to his leadership.

He continued they were arch-rivals of the PTI, but one must accept the fact that Imran’s popularity was not dented in any way.

He conceded that if free and fair elections were allowed to be held, the PTI would stage a comeback.

He maintained that the PML-N would stand as the main loser in this entire affair.
The ex-MPA said that he was at a loss to understand the need to arrest Imran at this stage.

He said in the PML-N, the only person who was playing his cards right was Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and it seemed that he would even be the next premier.

Former PTI MPA Raja Yawar Kamal, who is now in the IPP, said the PTI’s popularity in urban centers was intact and the arrest in the Toshakhana case would not mean anything to its cult following.

He added that it was an advertent or inadvertent mistake on the part of Imran that made him amenable to this punishment, but this was “no corruption charge”.

Kamal said it was a fact the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) popularity had tanked and that was why it wanted the elections to be delayed.

Former PPP MPA Syed Usman Mehmood acknowledged that the PTI’s popularity would only rise as a consequence of Imran’s arrest.

He said the economic performance of the government would impact all of the coalition partners including his party.