Imran Khan Gets Candid On Why He Is Contesting Elections In Pakistan

Picture Courtesy : Daily Times

Former Pakistan cricket legend Imran Khan is finding the going tough on the political pitch. Allegations by former wife Reham Khan has not made things easier for Imran either. One of the cricket’s most charismatic all- rounders during his heydays as a cricketer , Imran is now battling hard to win elections In Pakistan.  And if results go his way and now hypothetical at the moment , who knows he could well become the next Prime Minister.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan while dwelling upon the country’s complex political realities, said, “You contest elections to win. You don’t contest elections to be a good boy.”

Meanwhile, the former flamboyant all- rounder has got a shot in the arm as a survey by Pulse Consultant showed his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI, or Pakistan Justice Movement) ahead with 30 percent of the respondents nationwide, compared to 27 percent for its main rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was at 17 percent.

“I want to win. I am fighting elections in Pakistan, not Europe. I can’t import European politicians,” Khan further said in an interview with Dawn during his election campaign in Karachi .

The cricketer-turned-politician underscored the significance of manpower and financial resources for a successful election campaign.

“After 1997, I came to the conclusion that unless we took people in the party who know the art of winning the election, we will not be able to succeed. In Pakistan, you need money and thousands of trained polling agents who can bring out people on the day of elections. If you do not have those workers, you cannot contest the election,” the report quoted him, as saying.

On a related note, Khan faced a protest in Karachi by voters. He is on a visit to the metropolis as part of his election campaign.