Fresh election, old politics

Traditional election campaigns and political activities have commenced, after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the schedule for the upcoming nationwide polls in the country. Political rallies, corner meetings, and networking of the candidates for National and provincial assemblies are gradually gaining momentum while major political parties are in the process of building new alliances and making seat adjustments to replenish their vote bank or augment their candidates.

Amid such a scenario, the inter-party tussles and the rates and demands of the electables are at their peak. The renewed hostility between civic groups, exchange of interesting allegations/ accusations and verbosity of the leaders have made an awesome environment in the country if one keeps these differences in the political arena instead of manifesting them into personal rivalry. The newest political dogfight and battle of words between the PML-N and the PPP to attract voters is unique as both political groups have recently accomplished a successful parliamentary coalition and jointly ruled the country over the past one and a half years.

Several new parties including the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and Pakistan National Party (PNP) and others took part in the nationwide contest for the first time with imaginative manifestos, tall claims and trivial preparation. The disappearance of the PTI from the political scene has revived the decades-old traditional opposition between the PPP and the PML-N and both groups are actively lobbying in each other’s domain of influence. The PML-N has announced its election alliances with JUI-F and MQM-P, the party is eyeing to ally with Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Awami National Party (ANP) in Balochistan and the KP respectively. The PPP is likely to conceive its partnership with PML-Q, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP)-Sherpao and other regional/ ethnic groups.

The participation of the PTI in the upcoming election is still unsure, it is mulling over the current scenario and is likely to walk away from the polls as the party patron-in-chief is currently behind bars. Interestingly, all is going well except that there is wide-ranging consensus among the intelligentsia and scholarly circles that this election is seemingly a reverse/undoing of the grand finale of 2018 as the PML-N has taken the role of the PTI and vice versa. If so, nothing else than another blunder with the system as well as the nation.