What could BNP have done, and what did Imran Khan do?

In politics, Imran Khan's political career is almost half the age of Bangladeshi political party BNP's. However, the maturity shown by Imran Khan in the recent Pakistan elections will be instructive for BNP.

Despite numerous obstacles, Imran Khan has risen from almost nothing. In comparison, BNP's hindrance was insignificant. Yet, the achievement was nil.

Firstly, Imran Khan's party was banned, and party symbols were also prohibited. Imran Khan was held in jail without bail in a very minor Toshakhana case. A level playing field was far away; there was no field in front of Imran Khan. However, he only made the decision that he would go to the polls, not boycott.

So, the people of his party garnered more seats than everyone else by being elected on individual symbols. Imran Khan's independent candidates secured 102 seats despite extensive rigging. No obstacle could withstand the people's vote. Although in the end, his party decided to take the opposition seat despite receiving the most seats. Political analysts call this decision a 'wise decision'. They deem Imran 100% successful in the initial phase.

On the other hand, BNP has been stagnant for the past 15 years, only complaining against the government. Khaleda Zia literally never had to go to jail. She was in prison only on paper. BNP was not banned, and the grain of rice symbol was not abolished. They were repeatedly invited to participate in the election.

But BNP has only made demands after demands in the past years with the caretaker government, election commission, EVMs, and level playing field. Even with friends like the United States and the favorable environment created by the country's various measures, the party did not participate in the elections. Given the situation, it seemed that they would never participate in the elections unless guaranteed to come to power.

Imran Khan did not have a hundred percent of the field that BNP had for the election. If it were Imran Khan, he would have been the Prime Minister of Pakistan. And if BNP learned from Imran Khan, BNP might have come back to power by now.