He said that no one could deny the party's popularity, as evidenced by those huge rally turnouts in Lahore, Karachi and Balochistan. "Those who claim that PTI is losing its popularity are the people who actually regret now after quitting the party and some of them are busy in spreading propagandas," he added.
A former PTI leader, who recently joined the PML-N, said on condition of anonymity that if one could see in light of the events happened in the past few weeks, both Imarn and his party were losing stamina and public support. He said that there was strategic failure behind the declining popularity of the party. PTI's over-hyped tsunami was rapidly losing its power and support among the masses, he said, adding that inclusion of turncoat culture into party ranks was also one of the major factors.
"Due to repeated mistakes and lack of political foresightedness of Imran Khan and his incompetent political advisors, PTI's boat is rocking uncontrollably in the rough and treacherous sea of our politics," he added. A senior PTI leader, who wished not be named, also came up with the similar view about PTI's popularity. He said that the party's strategists were claiming landslide victories in the upcoming general elections but they were scared of participating in by-elections.
He said that PTI should have taken part in the by-polls, which could have helped it test its vote bank as well as people's support. "The decision to stay away from by-elections was a big mistake ...the party should have taken part in the by-polls to prove its claim of being popular among masses," he opined. "PTI needs to take some tangible steps to regain its popularity so that the party could compete with its rivals in a better way otherwise the desire of clean sweep will remain a wishful thinking," he maintained.