Being one of a large number of the so-called ‘fringe’ parties — smaller groups and outfits in the national political spectrum with a small share of the electorate, operating in the ‘ideological niches’ left untended by mainstream parties — has both its advantages and pitfalls.

In the most recent instance, in 2018, the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is estimated by political analysts to have cost the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at least 15 closely contested national seats across Pakistan.

However, it can be frustrating for the supporters of such parties, since these fringe parties mostly fail to consolidate their ‘popularity’ and their electoral gains — if any — to grow bigger and transform themselves into mainstream, regional or national, parties, barring the examples of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

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