PTI maintains top position as the 'most popular party' in Pakistan

The then-ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, whose leadership has been facing several charges after the May 9 mayhem, remains the most popular political party in Pakistan, according to the on-ground assessment.

However, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) shows improvement in Punjab, posing a tough challenge in the upcoming general elections, slated to take place across the country on February 8.

As per the survey, the popularity gap between PTI and PML-N in Punjab has been reduced from 15 percent to 5 percent.

Political analysts attributed the improvement in PML-N's popularity to the return of party supremo Nawaz Sharif in October last year.

Referring to a recent survey, political pundits indicate that PTI's current nationwide popularity surpasses its 2018 levels. 

In contrast, PML-N's popularity has declined since the last general elections in 2018. 

According to the Gallup survey conducted in June-July last year, PTI was the top popular party with a rating of 38%, followed by PML-N at 16%, TLP at 15%, PPP at 10%, JI at 9%, and MQM-P at 6%.

Imran Khan, who is currently in Adiala jail in a cipher case, led the chart of most popular leaders with a 60% positive approval rating, followed by Saad Rizvi and Pervaiz Elahi at 38% each, Shah Mehmood Qureshi at 37%, Nawaz Sharif at 36%, Shehbaz Sharif at 35%, and Maryam Nawaz at 30%. 

In Punjab, Imran Khan's popularity stood at 58%, Saad Rizvi and Pervaiz Elahi at 49% each, and Nawaz Sharif at 41%.