Tehrik-i-Insaf
Tehrik-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan initially supported General Musharraf, but when pro-government parties joined hands to form the National Alliance, Imran Khan did not join it. Soon after, he leveled charges of pre-poll rigging against the government, with Tariq Aziz, Principal Secretary to General Musharraf, the main target as the mastermind behind pre-poll rigging in the Punjab.
In 1997, Imran Khan lost the elections from Mianwali. In this instances his chances for victory appeared good till the Chaudhrys (now members of the PML (Q)) started supporting Imran Khan's opponent, Ubaidullah Shadi Khel. Imran Khan unleashed a vitriolic campaign against Chaudhry Shujaat Husain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, alleging the two leaders had got their loans written off and were therefore ineligible to contest elections. The Chaudhrys soon retaliated and accused Imran Khan of using charity for Shaukat Khanum Hospital and Jewish money to fund his campaign.
Tehrik-i-Insaf adopted a multi-pronged strategy that was designed to appeal to all classes of people. Imran Khan disagreed with Musharraf's Afghanistan and Kashmir policies, and has attacked United States President Bush and his government as "fascists," expecting the voters to be attracted to that, although the MMA seems to be the masters of this rhetoric. He made an elaborate case for the clean-up of the judiciary and linked it to foreign investment, which must appeal to the business class, but his attack on the IMF, while appealing to the common man, may scare away the industrialists. Imran Khan blewn the whistle on General Musharraf's pre-poll rigging and named names, which had the potential to enhance his image as a clean man. Though Imran Khan may win his seat from Mianwali, his party seemed to have little in the way of a broad support base to win a national seat. However, his party's candidates are likely to secure more votes than in the previous elections.
