Can the much-hyped Lahore bye-election make a real difference in the life of the common man in our peculiar system?
In the final pessimistic analysis the real winners of the Lahore NA-122 bye-election were : dynastic politics, lost ideals, opportunism, hypocrisy, personality cults, oversize egos, ill-gotten vast wealth, caste, spite and malice, hatred and mistrust, sycophancy, savage personal Inquisitions, clownish buffoonery, bravado and gloating, some well-filled instead of usually moth-eaten wallets, gorged stomachs, a laughing-all-the-way-to-the-bank electronic media, and yes, staggering along on a pair of crutches last of all, democracy, or at least a pale semblance of it. And of course, the status quo also won, as always in our environment, and by the look of things would have won even had the other party’s candidate come in first at the hustings. Long live the status quo, whether of the old or the ‘new’ Pakistan, PTI style.
Oscar Wilde remarked of one of his less well-received work that, ‘the play was a huge success but the audience was a disaster’. In our NA-122 soap opera, the entire drama thankfully went off without a major snag or a single body bag, thanks to Big Brothers’ watchful gaze, but the cynical audience and the voters could not help feeling that they had been taken for a (Motorway, Orange Train, Elevated Expressway or Signal-free Corridor) ride! In one sense, it had all been a media-created hype, a much ado about nothing that understandably (after all, it was a single constituency) ended with a whimper and a winner by a razor-thin margin, only accepted conditionally by the sore losers. A recount has since been demanded by the PTI and mysterious wizardry, such as the case of the ‘fugitive’ and ‘imported’ votes, is also being probed by the stubborn party. So, a large celebratory cigar would no doubt be the last thing on the by-a-whisker winner’s mind, while his party would hardly seem dizzy with this success.
The biggest losers were the ECP Code of Conduct, and the civic, social and other issues of national importance (clean drinking water, energy crisis, decrepit hospitals and schools) that, instead of being intensely debated, got lost in the personal duels between the PTI and the selected ministers, friends, relatives and indescribably slavish lackeys of the ruling party. It was an apt case of ‘the best lack all conviction, while the worst, are full of passionate intensity’ and the passion soon slipped into outright vulgarity. For cronies appointed to lucrative posts, or desperately seeking new gold mines, election time is payback time, and they all try to outdo each other in the glorification of their generous benefactors.
The biggest losers were the ECP Code of Conduct, and the civic, social and other issues of national importance (clean drinking water, energy crisis, decrepit hospitals and schools) that, instead of being intensely debated, got lost in the personal duels between the PTI and the selected ministers, friends, relatives and indescribably slavish lackeys of the ruling party
With hindsight, the PTI’s choice for the national assembly seat turned out to be a basic, though not the defining factor, in its mighty slim loss. Caste also reportedly played a pivotal role in the voting, which is sad, but sadder still would be the story if the electorate had split along strictly ethnic or sectarian lines. So one should be thankful for small mercies. The PTI candidates’ past was said to be soiled with a ‘Soviet’ style attitude to other people’s land and property, as well as plea-bargains with the National Accountability Bureau, which gave his PML-N rival a definite edge as he was considered untainted in comparison (so far as is publicly known). Many staunch PTI supporters must have undergone a crisis of uncertainty about voting for their nominated candidate because of his excess baggage, despite the fact that he had delivered well on his electoral promises in this very constituency in the past. But the staid ‘freemen’ of the bourgeois class do not readily forgive the sins of others, while glossing over or suffering a convenient memory lapse over their own little foibles and deceits. As the totally alienated Harry Haller remarks in Herman Hesse’s great novel, Steppenwolf, ‘for what I hated and detested and cursed above all things was this contentment, this healthiness and comfort, this carefully preserved optimism of the middle class, this fat and prosperous brood of mediocrity’. Anyway, the conspicuous absence of the fashionably dressed social media crowd at the polling booths on this occasion does give some boost to the theory of a mistaken selection.
There were much-drummed rumours of money flowing freely before, during and even on the eve of the election, which was termed by some media men as ‘Eid’ or ‘Chand Raat. But by adopting the ‘electables’ formula over his strong views on putting forward young and educated candidates, the PTI Chairman definitely erred, as he had abandoned (yet again) the idealism that attracted the youth to his party in the first place. True, in the Lahore bye-election, the personal stakes were high, the prize was tempting, but the evidence suggests that for some PTI supporters at least, the dumping of core party principles for an opportunistic ‘horses for courses’ approach, was difficult to digest. Now, after Chaudhry Sarwar’s ascendancy in the party, some stalwarts will no doubt be weighing their chances and prospects for another political leap. And dark rumours still swirl about the Supreme Khan’s private affairs, his shaky domestic situation and the negative revelations that might surface in the not too distant future.
The PPP candidate, otherwise a decent sort of chap, could not muster even a thousand votes in what was once upon a time (in a galaxy far, far away?) the bastion of the ZAB party. What a fall, and what a damning indictment of the last-will-and-testament co-chairman of this unfortunate party of martyrs. It is high time that the Old Guard musters up enough courage to remove this failed and boorish liability from the top slot, otherwise the Bonny and Clyde duo will ensure its exit from Sindh also. But so far we have witnessed only a fearful servility from Asif Ali Zardari’s cowering coterie of party elders, or heard explanations, evasions and a catalogue of vagueness from them on the grave issue of the party leadership. Resignation was a fitting option after the fiasco of the 2013 general elections, but of course this (Greek?) word does not exist in any our politicians’ vocabulary, or even crosses their minds.
The leadership of the reincarnated and thrice-born PML-N is openly at loggerheads at the topmost tier, but it still garnered enough vocal power to keep up the pressure on the hated PTI throughout the campaign. It was more a case of realpolitik than politics, of heated, ill-humoured and at times unhinged rhetoric, rather than a calm discussion of the crucial issues, duly backed by solid facts and figures. There was a rather loose and liberal attitude towards the truth, and much tension on the television talk shows, with some leaders indulging in dramatic touches, clash of egos and acute polemics.
The prime minister’s behaviour on the day preceding the election (when all political activity was banned) was a study in sophistry. First, he held a reportedly nearly two hours televised press conference crowing on his party’s achievements and heaping scorn on the PTI chairman for his dharnas and personal abuse, and praying to Allah that he give the latter ‘hidayat’, or good counsel, all this said in that irritatingly pious but utterly fake pose that even a fool can see through, after all these years. The prime minister just doesn’t seem to realise that his credibility is at a big, fat zero after three innings, and blissfully goes on deceiving himself about the truth of his own words, actions and supposed monumental works.
Then there was the little matter of the day joyride through Lahore and parts of the constituency where the election was taking place, ostensibly to check on the Orange Line train route! Why that particular day was chosen for this ‘double-edged’ journey is obvious, and though not illegal, does have an ethical angle. Another word that our political elite is totally unacquainted with! It seemed that the prime minister ‘though not invited to join in the proceedings’ because of legal constraints, ‘did not wish to be entirely left out of the proceedings’ and so managed this manoeuvre on a flimsy pretext. The foundation stone of a new power plant was also laid by him and an agricultural package announced for farmers in these ‘nervous’ times before the bye-election.
As an aside, the residents of the areas constituting the NA-122 seat got a pleasant surprise in the form of a break from the usual day load shedding for the whole week prior to the election day. Now that the exercise is over, the old routine has restarted with its former Swiss clockwork precision and punctuality. Is this also not a clear case of pre-poll rigging, of purchasing the voters goodwill, one may well ask? The PTI post-poll ‘spoilers’ need to look into this matter!
Now, on to the electronic media. The media has a simple rule: follow the leader. Where the ram (or couple of big rams go), the rest follow. It is the docile herd instinct in action. Hardly have the big channels come up with a sudden ‘breaking news’, when the same is nauseatingly repeated (or hysterically shouted) by the pack down the line to the least watched channels. Although the recent bye-election was well covered, and there were some interesting and informative shows, the overall standard was really quite dismal, thanks in part to one or other of the charged guests making propaganda speeches or veering off from the subject. And then there was the Tower of Babel effect, when those present in the programme start talking all together in an irritating clamour of voices, to no end or effect. Most of the anchors appeared helpless in such a situation and turned to the ready ploy of a ‘short break’, which however, was seldom short. The anchors need to work hard at their craft, on how to better conduct the show smoothly, the appropriate questions to be asked of each participant and especially how to control the easily excitable ‘neurotic’ element among the guests, so that the show does not sink into chaos and acrimony. But in the Lahore NA-122 election coverage, the biggest blunder of almost all the television channels was their impatient and unprofessional reporting of the results within minutes of the close of voting, and of a definite tilt towards a PML-N win very early on in the proceedings. An indecent haste to clinch the electronic equivalent of a print media ‘scoop’ got the better of them, to the viewers’ chagrin and discontent.
Today, instead of working tirelessly and incessantly for the benefit of the poverty-stricken masses, or tackling the critical national issues, the PML-N leaders are themselves at daggers drawn and engaging in unseemly public spats
But will the much-hyped Lahore bye-election make a real difference in the life of the ordinary voter, the presumed ultimate beneficiary of all this burlesque? One can see him contented in the limelight for his brief moment of fame in the voting booth, and being rather uncharacteristically chased, wooed, coaxed, enticed, sweet-talked and flattered into giving up his most treasured possession of election day: his vote. But as bitter experience has shown, there is little respite for him in the aftermath of any election, whether national or a high-profile bye-election. He is the source and the vehicle of the rulers’ power, but as soon as he accomplishes his ‘mission’ of voting, he is callously cast aside like an empty husk and forgotten. He has ‘neither hope nor health, nor peace within nor calm around, nor fame, nor power, nor love, nor leisure’ in the apt and neat words of the poet Shelley. Thus the ordinary folk, who constitute the centre-piece of a true democracy, remain the marginalised and the forgotten element in our peculiar system.
Despite all, the good news is that the vast majority of Pakistanis still believe fervently in democracy and its great ritual of free and fair elections, as is evident from the great numbers in which they flock to the voting booths. They turn even a tough election fight into a carnival mood, and take a tremendous delight in the debates, the public speeches and in all the din and the shouting. They simply revel in the whole process and the pageantry, and in this mellow mood are ready to forgive anything, even the terrible television coverage or their own relatives!
Today, instead of working tirelessly and incessantly for the benefit of the poverty-stricken masses, or tackling the critical national issues, the PML-N leaders are themselves at daggers drawn and engaging in unseemly public spats. Some senior cabinet ministers are not even on talking terms, the prime minister rarely attends the National Assembly sessions, and achieving a quorum (in both Houses) is nothing short of a miracle. These are hardly heartening actions, and ones that send a demoralising signal to the people and a dangerous message ‘elsewhere’.
The ‘many-headed multitude’, groaning beneath the weight of unaddressed problems which are increasing by the day, are justifiably becoming disenchanted and incensed with the current brand of democracy. They must now be considered as having reached the bottom of their patience. ‘Democracy’ of the vested interest, self-serving and non-delivering ilk has no future and it cannot survive for long, because it will have perished in the hearts and minds of men.
