Fuelled by boastful claims that its leader is set to secure the chief minister’s slot following the February 8 general elections, Pervez Khattak’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), a breakaway faction of the Imran Khan-founded PTI, is vying for dominance in the bustling political arena of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

With the rumoured backing of the country’s powerful establishment, Mr Khattak is peddling his vision across public jalsas and private meetings. Yet, the PTI-P has struggled to attract the electables necessary to make Mr Khattak a formidable contender for the coveted position.

Despite events orchestrated to amplify the significance of each new joiner to Mr Khattak’s ranks, the reality is stark: electables are not flocking to the PTI-P as anticipated, leaving the party to scramble for notable candidates to field.

PTI-P, despite its initial optimism, realises the need to pivot its strategy, eyeing independent candidates to bolster its ranks post-elections. The party’s deep roots in the KP region, stemming from PTI’s previous reigns, has done little to quell the internal strife and public scepticism surrounding its electoral prospects.

In the backdrop of these unfolding narratives, the political landscape has been a chessboard of moves and countermoves. PTI-P, despite its initial optimism, realises the need to pivot its strategy, eyeing independent candidates to bolster its ranks post-elections. The party’s deep roots in the KP region, stemming from PTI’s previous reigns, has done little to quell the internal strife and public scepticism surrounding its electoral prospects.

As rumours began circulating of the powers that be looking to put Mr Khattak in KP’s hot seat, unprecedented interference, allegedly on his part, began to be seen in the provincial government’s functioning.

“Mr Khattak has a big say in the posting and transfers of secretaries of government departments, deputy commissioners and district police officers,” a senior bureaucrat tells Dawn. Bureaucrats approach Mr Khattak to get lucrative posts in government departments, and after getting their desired positions, allegedly follow his directives. It is owing to this that Awami National Party’s KP president Aimal Wali Khan views Khattak as the de facto chief minister.

It is questionable, however, how the KP government’s reins can be handed over to Mr Khattak as it is hardly certain whether the PTI-P chairman or his vice chairman, Mahmood Khan, will even emerge victorious. The PTI-P has fielded its candidates on only 17 of 45 National Assembly seats allocated to KP and on only 73 of the 115 provincial assembly seats.

Notable among them are Mr Khattak, his two sons Mohammad Ibrahim and Mohammad Ismail, one son-in-law Imran Khattak, former chief minister Mahmood Khan, and former provincial ministers Ziaullah Bangash and Mohibullah Khan.

On top of this, the PTI popularity graph has further increased in KP owing to crackdowns on leaders and supporters of the party. Aggrieved PTI workers consider the upcoming polls an opportunity to vent their anger and seek to give a tough time to the PTI-P candidates for ditching Imran Khan.

Despite these intricacies, one thing is for certain: the political stage of KP is set for some interesting showdowns. Khattak’s rallies, though lacking the anticipated fervour, were a testament to his unwavering ambition, with his family members and loyalists like Mahmood Khan and Ziaullah Bangash standing firmly by his side.