A former PM who suffered five defeats before his first win

LAHORE:Only one figure in Pakistan's political history has lost his first five elections but despite so many defeats, he finally became the Prime Minister of the country and surprised his opponents.

This is a surprising fact that almost every political figure who became the PM of Pakistan while seeking vote of confidence from the National Assembly won his or her debut election and got elected as MPA or MNA first.

Figures like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (won debut election in 1970), Muhammad Khan Junejo (1985), Benazir Bhutto (1988), Mian Nawaz Sharif (1985), Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani (1985), Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein (1985) and even Shaukat Aziz (contested first and last poll in 2004) won their seat when they made their electoral debut in the above mentioned years.

PTI Chairman and former PM Imran Khan lost from several seats in 1997 when he made his electoral debut and in the next general elections, he got elected as MNA from the Mianwali (Kalabagh/Essa Khel seat) and took oath as MNA in 2002.

However, one noted political figure of Pakistan's politics had to wait for 12 years since making his electoral debut in 1990 to get elected and take oath as the member of Parliament. It is PPP's Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the former PM of the country who also served as Speaker of the National Assembly later who lost four elections of assemblies and one for the slot of district Nazim until the luck favoured him in 2002, when he got elected as MNA from Gujjar Khan, district Rawalpindi seat, which was NA-51 then. Not only this, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was made the Secretary General of PPP-Parliamentarians by his leader, then PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto. He scored second consecutive victory from the same seat in the year 2008 and fortune continued to favour him as he first became the federal minister of Water and Power and in the year 2012, following the disqualification of the sitting Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, he was nominated as PM's candidate by Asif Ali Zardari and eventually became Pakistan's premier. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf lost the 2013 general election but in the 2018 polls, he was the only MNA elected from entire Central Punjab and Potohar region on PPP ticket. Rest were from Southern Punjab, mainly from Rahim Yar Khan and Muzaffargarh. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is once again contesting from the same seat that falls in Gujjar Khan.