The by-election results are in front of you. Pakistan Muslim League (N) has done a clean sweep. On the victory of Muslim League (N) from Punjab, it can be said that it is the government there, therefore the government wins the by-elections. But what will be said about Haripur? Tehreek-e-Insaaf has a strong government in Haripur. KP Chief Minister also went for the election campaign. However, they were also notified by the Election Commission. All Tehreek-e-Insaf of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa campaigned to win Haripur by-election. But still the candidate of Muslim League (N) won with a clear majority. Tehreek-e-Insaf lost its government.
The victory of Muslim League (N) in Haripur is sending enough messages to Tehreek-e-Insaf. I think alarm bells have sounded for Tehreek-e-Insaf in KP. Umar Ayub seat of Haripur was a safe seat of Tehreek-e-Insaaf. This is Omar Ayub’s family seat. They often win here.
Umar Ayub considers this seat so safe that he refused to accept the principle of boycott of Tehreek-e-Insaaf for this seat. We all know that the founder Tehreek-e-Insaf has announced a boycott of the by-elections. But two personalities refused to accept this boycott. One of them is Umar Ayub and the other is Hamad Azhar. Hammad Azhar also thought that his seat was very safe. His father also won this seat in 2024 general elections. So it will be very easy to win. It has now been proved that even the safe seats of Tehreek-e-Insaaf are no longer safe.
Another thing is where Umar Ayub and Hamad Azhar broke the rule of boycott of Tehreek-e-Insaf. There he has also given the tickets to his own family. Umar Ayub made his Begum contest the election in his place. While Hamad Azhar also brought his relative. In both places the families maintained their monopoly. Perhaps Tehreek-e-Insaf voters did not like the hereditary candidate. Tehreek-e-Insaf’s voter probably did not like his Begum in place of Umar Ayub and Hamad Azhar’s non-political relative was also not liked. By the way, Tehreek-e-Insaf speaks against hereditary politics. But we have seen that now the tickets are issued according to the traditional rules.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) has defeated strong candidates of Tehreek-e-Insaaf in two constituencies while it has defeated PPP in Dera Ghazi Khan. In Deir Ghazi Khan, the seat fell vacant due to the disqualification of Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Zar Taj Gul. But Zartaj Gul did not field any candidate following the boycott of Tehreek-e-Insaf. So here, PPP has fielded a candidate against Muslim League (N). Muhammad Khosa, a friend of PPP contested the election. So far, Muslim League (N) has defeated the PPP candidate with a clear majority.
In the rest of the constituencies, the Muslim League (N) has been competing with independent candidates. Here too there has been an interesting situation. Although Tehreek-e-Insaf was not present in the election. But their local factions have supported independent candidates over the Muslim League (N). Because local political factions cannot remain completely indifferent to the election. Therefore, the local factions of Tehreek-e-Insaaf have cast their votes in opposition to the Muslim League (N). The results of the by-elections are certainly encouraging for the leadership of PML-N, somewhere people are turning towards PML-N again. An increase in their vote bank has been seen. The people have put their trust in the performance of the government of Punjab and the center. Their vote bank has increased. This is not unusual.
Has Tehreek-e-Insaf’s boycott confused their voters? Of course, Tehreek-e-Insaf’s boycott was not understood by their voters. If the principle was to boycott the ineligible constituencies, then Umar Ayub’s constituency should have been boycotted as well. If the intention was to boycott the electoral system of the country, fighting in two constituencies was unthinkable. No one understood fighting in some circles and boycotting in some circles. Voters are confused. Neither he could do a complete boycott nor could he run a complete election campaign. Therefore, a boycott campaign was going on in some places on social media and appeals to vote were going on in some places.
It is the same thing that Tehreek-e-Insaf has resigned from the standing committees of the National Assembly and the Senate. But have not resigned from National Assembly and Senate. If you want to sit in the parliament, why is there a need to resign from the standing committees? This is also an incomprehensible policy. Which no one understands.
The narrative of rigging also gained ground in these by-elections. How can KP be rigged? The government was there. Priz Iding officer was also from his government. The police were theirs. Government employees were also theirs. How can it be rigged? Chief Minister Sohail Afridi himself went to campaign. He also showed off. All PTI went to Haripur. Still lost. In comparison, Hammad Azhar’s strategy was different.
He did not hold any big meeting. He did not invite any big leader in the circle. It is being said that he hoped to take the seat because of his low profile. Friends say they were in touch. were talking for their seat. But they did not speak. And they lost. The results of the by-elections are defining the next political scenario of the country. Muslim League (N)’s hold on power seems to be getting stronger. Muslim League (N) is building its majority. Due to which his dependence on allies is decreasing. This is no small change. There are many signs in it for those who understand.
