MARDAN, Dec 27: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, which had boycotted the last general elections, has begun a mass contact campaign in Mardan district for the next elections.

Over the last few months, several political leaders and workers in the district have joined PTI for better future prospects.

Observers said the ongoing intra-party elections had mobilised PTI leaders and workers, who were in contact with the people to drum up support for the party candidates in the next elections.

PTI local leader and a strong candidate for PK-23 seat Riaz Paindakhel told Dawn that a small caravan led by district president of the party Mohammad Atif had begun their political journey under the umbrella of PTI and that had converted to a huge following in Mardan city.

He claimed that the PTI candidates would easily win all seven provincial assembly and three National Assembly constituencies in Mardan district due to massive popularity.

Mr Paindakhel said 142,000 people had filed party membership registration forms in the district, while a good number of political leaders and workers would join PTI in the next few months.

He said the newcomers to PTI were mostly youths.

“Our party chief Imran Khan has repeatedly said he is against the inherited political culture and traditional politics in the country and that he has entered the political arena to end all that and bring about a real change. That’s the reason that most of the youths in the country are supporting him,” he said.

Meanwhile, some newcomers to PTI, mostly youths, said they had tested the country’s other political parties many times but they disappointed them.

They said they had joined PTI as they believed that it would bring about political change in the country.