New Delhi: There is a perceptible drop in the popularity of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in an opinion survey, which also revealed that opposition PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is leading in popularity ratings in Punjab province at 58 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 46 percent and Sindh 51 percent, The News reported.
According to the survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan, Khan ranked second in popularity in KP with 44 percent and third with 33 percent popularity in Sindh and Punjab.
These opinion survey conducted from December 22, 2021 to January 31, 2022 solicited views of 5,000 people from across the country about the popularity of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Khan, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
In KP, Shehbaz Sharif’s popularity stood at 43 percent, while Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari were tied at 24 percent.
There was a significant reduction in the level of satisfaction with Khan in KP which has dropped from 67 percent in February 2020 to 44 percent in the current survey, while that of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari dropped from 26 percent to 24 percent.
However, in the case of Nawaz Sharif, his approval ratings increased from 33 percent to 46 percent and that of Shehbaz Sharif rose from 31 percent to 43 percent in KP.
In the case of Punjab, 58 percent respondents approved Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, while 33 percent approved Prime Minister Khan, 24 percent Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and 21 percent Asif Ali Zardari.
According to Gallup Pakistan, this was the first time that the popularity of the former Prime Minister rose after December 2018 and Nawaz Sharif managed similar ratings as that of Shehbaz Sharif.
But the popularity of Khan that rose to 51 percent in 2018 has now dropped to 33 percent. While that of PPP Chairman increased to 24 percent from 18 percent then.
About the response in Sindh, the pollster recorded 51 percent popularity for Nawaz Sharif, 41 percent for Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari secured 37 percent, Khan 33 percent, and Asif Ali Zardari managed 31 percent.
In comparison to the 2018 Gallup Survey, the popularity of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif rose from a mere 12 percent to 51 percent and 41 percent, whereas that of Khan dropped from 33 percent in 2018 to 10 percent in February 2020, which has again risen to 33 percent in the current survey.
But in the case of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the popularity ratings dropped in the home province from 54 percent to 39 percent and has now further dropped to 37 percent, the report said.
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