Elections roundup: The calm before the storm

We are officially less than a week away from the Election Day, and of all the politicians it is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who is stepping on the gas with his narrative. While Imran Khan broods and waits for the Election Day, sounding off and saying something controversial in the intervals and Shehbaz Sharif is still dealing with constituency matters and internal party dynamics, the young Bhutto has become the face of talking about a level playing field in the polls.

On Wednesday, he again lambasted the absence of a level playing field for everyone in the electoral process. He complained again of the “favouritism” being shown towards the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Khan, alleging that in the run-up to the elections there is a movement underway to form “a puppet alliance” and a new Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), giving Khan and his party a leg up in the polls.

As it stands, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is never going to win this year’s elections. They are primed to reclaim Sindh once again, but there is little to no hope of winning in the centre. They might have some serious stakes in the very likely scenario of a hung parliament where a coalition is needed, but they will not win this one.

While this will mean that Bilawal has not been able to replicate his mother’s magic in his first elections, it has still been a good electoral debut. He has taken moral stances and made strong statements. There is much to be said about that even if he lacks the traditional Bhutto charisma.

It will be interesting to see how he shapes out as a parliamentarian.

ELECTION DAY CLOSING IN:

Given how close the polling day is, there is still an odd calm in the electorate and politicians alike. Perhaps it is because so much non-election related stuff is going on. What with the announcement that the cabinet has approved an open trial for Nawaz Sharif and Justice Shaukat Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) calling out the armed forces for trying to meddle in judicial matters, elections have taken a bit of a back seat. True, all of these things are somehow or the other connected with the greater debates that have surrounded these elections, but there is not much activity by the way of campaigning or electioneering.

This is further accentuated by the fact that it is particularly quiet in the urban cities. There really have been no mammoth rallies this time around, other than the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) power show on Friday, and it seems that the parties are already exhausted and are trying to save up for one final push just before the elections.