Despite losing some seats, PTI entrenches itself in Punjab vote banks

LAHORE, July 21: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which won 15 of 20 seats in the July 17 by-elections in Punjab has seen its vote bank drop in five constituencies since 2018, though overall, the number of votes it bagged this month compared to four years ago has increased.
An analysis of the data obtained by a private television channel Investigation Unit reveals that both PTI and the PML-N have seen their vote bank increase in the by-elections. However, the pace at which PTI gained votes outstripped that of rival PML-N in 12 constituencies, with its vote bank fattening up by up to 153%.
While PTI secured fewer votes in Khushab’s PP-83, and Lahore’s PP-158, PP-167, and PP-170, the PML-N also took a dip in some of the constituencies. The PTI had originally won only 10 of these 20 seats in the 2018 general elections and the remaining ten MPAs had joined the party after winning the election as independent candidates.
Its votes have increased from a cumulative of 682,347 votes to 1,025,205 votes since 2018. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), which did not win any of these 20 constituencies in the 2018 general election, has secured four seats now and seen its vote bank increase from a cumulative of 544,000 votes to 863,606 votes. – SABAH