Pondering over PPP and ANP defeats

What was tipped to be a hung parliament in all likelihood would be anything but. A number of pre-election analyses pointed towards a split vote especially in Punjab and how it would benefit the PPP. The PPP too, thought the same that the PTI would be a party spoiler for the PML-N and help it gain a respectable number of seats.
The voters, it appears were smarter than what many thought. The manner in which the PPP and PML-Q were almost wiped out of the biggest province and ANP in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is an eye-opener. That the PML-N appeared clear winners did not come as a surprise; but even the PML-N itself wouldn have thought of such a landslide victory in Punjab.
The question that begs an answer is what resulted in such a massive failure for PPP, PML-Q and ANP. The simple answer might be bad governance, which is partly true.
The PML-Q was always going to find it tough especially as it was deserted by a considerable number of electables who jumped the ship to either PML-N or PTI. Theirs was the most predictable fall as the Party was literally in tatters.
The fate that ANP met must have come as a surprise to them as despite not-so-good governance; the party was quite confident of retaining at least its strongholds. That they failed so miserably is primarily attributable to the distance with the KPK people which kept on increasing during the five-year tenure.
The ANP was a victim of terrorists attacks, which made many believe it would have the voters sympathy. But the KPK voters showed no such sympathy as the blatant failure to tackle the law and order and the continuation of policy on US drones were reasons enough to show ANP the exit door.
The PPPs case too was baffling to an extent as it failed to retain its strongholds in even South Punjab. Yes the PPP had lost a number of electables to PML-N before the elections. Yet it had a considerable number of stalwarts contesting, most of whom came down crushing. The people took the PPPs slogan of democracy is the best revenge in all seriousness and voted them out.
"The governments inability to address the energy crisis was always going to haunt them and PPP was at the core of it. They have simply voted the PPP out because of massive loadshedding especially in Punjab. Corruption was not a major factor", Nusrat Javed, senior journalist and political analyst told BR Research.
While the ANP seems to have accepted the defeat gracefully terming their failure to deliver at the core of defeat, the PPP still thinks that the inability to campaign in Punjab played a crucial role. Bear in mind, Punjab was not the province under attacks. They are on way to retain their NA seats from Sindh, which dispels the notion that inability to campaign and absence of leadership led to their defeat in Punjab.
The PPP still has the chance to showcase its governance or the lack of it in Sindh, with or without a coalition partner. Once, the largest party in the country cannot afford complacency this time around. The lesson from ANP and PPP defeat is clear-underestimate the voters intelligence at your own peril.