The political information remained cloudy until the election day of February 8. Sometimes news of the postponement of the elections became an adornment in the media, sometimes we heard the lamentation of the breakdown of law and order. But despite all these rumours, the election day finally came and the magic of Imran Khan spoke in such a way that all the planners and analysts sat down. People came out of their homes voluntarily, came to the polling stations, stamped the marks of the candidates of their choice on the ballot papers and returned to their homes with a sense of satisfaction.
These were the elections where the leader of the most popular party and many of his senior associates were imprisoned. In order to declare them rebels of the state and moral losers, courts were set up in the prison under the guise of issues like marriage, divorce and Idda. But mud was thrown and 31 years of imprisonment with hard labor were awarded in three separate cases instead of one. On the order of the highest court, his electoral symbol was removed from the ballot paper. Newspapers and media were banned from taking names, the Election Commission and the Supreme Judiciary may not have read the Constitution of Pakistan as closely as they read the constitution of Tehreek-e-Insaf, injustice was done to Tehreek-e-Insaf in the name of intra-party election. Which is unprecedented in the recent past.
Repeating another practice of the past, the candidates were forced to fight free elections, such strange election symbols were allotted that vegetables, fruits and tools were scarce. At the same time, many towers were also overturned across the country. Instead of slips from the boxes, a flame of public anger and revenge came out, which made the rulers guilty. And then our history also saw the scene where the senior leader who wanted to become the prime minister for the fourth time left for his home without giving a victory speech. gone.
These were elections in which political parties entered the fray without a manifesto. The Muslim League Noon seemed to be a victim of the complacency that “Sadi Gul Ho Gayi A” it bothered to release its manifesto just a week before the elections. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the only political leader who ran his election campaign on the basis of a manifesto across the country. There was no. The magic of Imran Khan spoke in such a way that the Non-League was almost wiped out in its stronghold of Punjab. Tehreek-e-Insaf secured a large and clear mandate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It emerged as the largest party in Punjab and the Federation. And now the Non-League has opened a stable in which it will carry out the work of government formation by putting aside all morals with the help of horse trading. In the 2024 elections, Imran Khan did not get a chance to give tickets to his favorite candidates. But despite this, the districts of Central Punjab and GT Road, which are considered the stronghold of PML-N, threw all their weight in the favor of Tehreek-e-Insaf. Which no one expected.
According to the evaluations so far, independent candidates supported by Tehreek-e-Insaf have won 96 seats in the National Assembly, while Imran Khan’s candidates have won 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly. Imran Khan’s magic also worked in districts like Sargodha where in 2018, the Muslim League managed to win 4 of the five seats in the National Assembly, but this time it barely managed to win one seat. On GT Road in 2013, PML-N had won 72 out of 79 constituencies, while this time more than half of the seats have been won by unknown faces supported by PTI. The fact should be accepted that Imran Khan. The magic of has changed trends in Punjab. The young voter has completely rejected traditional politics. The traditional politics of factionalism and community has weakened.
In the recent elections, Tehreek-e-Insaaf has shaken the roots of factionalism, communalism and manipulation politics which the non-party elections of 1985 laid. In these elections, Tehreek-e-Insaf kept in touch with its voters in an unconventional way, social media did not let it disappear from the scene in difficult times, unconventional activities like virtual jalsa were organized. For the first time in Punjab, the election campaign of a party was run by the people instead of the leaders, and the people formed their own small groups and conveyed the symbol of their candidate to the common man in each constituency. I think that the success of Imran Khan’s party in these circumstances is an example and a revolt against traditional politics.
In the 2024 elections, Tehreek-e-Insaf gave tickets to about 444 candidates who were contesting elections for the first time in the national and provincial assemblies. Whereas for the Punjab Assembly, Tehreek-e-Insaf gave tickets to 77 percent new candidates. It remains to be seen how far this public mandate is respected. Will the independent candidates be allowed to remain “independent”? Will there be a transfer of power according to the public mandate or will the rejected parties be put in power according to the planned plan? The nation will see this decision in the coming days.