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In Game of Thrones, we all remember the red wedding (I know probably the most shocking episode in GOT). Rob Stark the king of the north is betrayed by his own bannerman, Roose Bolton who cuts of his head and becomes his successor and at the same time, the phrase ‘the north remembers’ is created which means the north doesn’t forget easily specially betrayals. Considering the fact that the general elections are less than a month away, the same could be said about our northern in Khyber Pakhtoon Khwah as well.
The fact that the good people of KPK have never re-elected a government for a second term amazes me. I mean it is quite odd. Especially in Pakistani politics where results in other provinces are mostly the same. Sindh always falls to PPP, and Balochistan and Punjab where the whole game lies in the hands of the electable who change parties whenever it suits them.
In the midst of all of this lands in Imran Khan and PTI who won the general elections in 2013 bagging in 63 seats, 51 elected and 12 reserved seats. PTI that have always claimed to bring «Tabdeeli» is now directing all their efforts on Punjab where the victor for the upcoming elections will be decided. However the question still remains, will PTI breaks this pattern in the north and be the first party to be elected since 1988? A tough question, if you ask me.
PTI managed to get most of its votes from areas in the north that are known for not re-electing the ruling provincial government again. Areas consisting Peshawar valley (districts of Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, Swabi, and Mardan) and Swat from the northern district. The rest of KPK remains the same not changing the behavior patterns much.
The Hazara division remains a stronghold for the league and the southern parts lean towards JUI-F. Here’s the interesting part, Pervaiz Khattak government has done a lot of development spending primarily in these areas to make sure PTI maintains its vote bank but, so did Hamid Hoti and Aftab Sherpao faced a similar defeat like ANP last elections. Also, considering the fact that PTI is also the first party to form a government without the help of federal government.
So, the question still remains, how on earth is PTI gonna pull this one off. I might not know much about strategy but I know for a fact that if you’re going to try to win over a new land, you need to make sure your own house is in order, otherwise, why would anyone choose you to lead? But in the end, it’s a simple formula if PTI has actually performed, not in my eyes or the journalist or the rest of the country but in the eyes of the northern people, then they will be rewarded with loyalty. It is as simple as that. And if not, then people of the north will not forgive them. Unlike the rest of the country, the northern is different, loyal to their own and of course THE NORTH REMEMBERS!
