A narrative is being run mainly by foreign handles and promoted internally that Establishment has no idea of public sentiment and results of 8 February are an example of it. It’s a dangerous narrative being purposefully spread for two effects; one that establishment especially its leadership is secluded and isolated and second that establishment and public at large are at crossroads.
This purported inferences have to be
examined on reality and context.
While 48% of the voters participated in
elections, 52% did not. So against a wave of high voter turnout supporting PTI
the turnover was even less than 2018 elections. Amongst this 48%, who voted,
from the winning percentage it is clear that at best 30-35% seats in context of
National Assembly were taken by PTI; if a vote for PTI is manipulatively taken
as an anti establishment vote, which in fact is not technically true since
those who voted for PTI candidates voted due to multiple reasons and amongst
few this could have been fuelled due to their anti establishment narrative. And
even where PTI won, a substantial portion voted against them. Hence public
sentiment derived from 8 February results tells us that a vast majority of
people voted against anti establishment narrative and that those portions of
certain segments who were somehow geared up by this externally geared hate on
SM also once engaged logically have no good reason to base their narrative
other than rhetoric.
It is also to be seen that establishment
had no clear favourites in this election. Multiple Losses of stalwarts of N
League, IPP etc is testimonial of a hands off approach rather than alleged
micro management. The hands down mandate in KPK despite having all the elements
to manipulate it with even MFR and PK loosing, all reflect a strategy based on
let the masses decide.
What establishment should be blamed for
is being naive of the propaganda that PTI launched on the eve of elections and
not anticipating it. They should have learned their lessons from the media
campaign launched earlier on nomination papers by same party whence in actual
PTI filed maximum. Similarly Form 45 and exaggerating initial results of
channels through paid and allied media combined with foreign handles and lobbyists
should have been anticipated by an establishment which is keen on 5th
Generational Warfare. It is there where they erred, thinking that as results
will come, they will themselves showcase impartiality.
It is important that we allow facts to
be heard and counted in developing our perceptions rather than biases and
assumptions govern them.
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