Daily Times

After spending four years in cold storage, the political resurrection of Nawaz Sharif, that too, months before a general election had caused many to wonder what masterstrokes he must have perfected to revive his party’s falling credentials and roar again. From the looks of it, the only lesson PML(N) seems to have learned is that there are no lessons worth their time or while.

According to the list of candidates announced for the national and provincial assembly elections in Punjab, at least 36 of the ticket holders are related to each other. Amid a heated hullaballoo of father-son, father-daughter, husband-wife, brother-in-law, mother-son, father-in-law and uncle-nephew, little seems to have changed for a mainstream political player that kept tooting its own horn of ushering in a period of prosperity. How are the good days supposed to enter when the roadmap continues to revolve around living room politics? With the royal family perched comfortably atop the pyramid, most of the lucrative portfolios are reserved for the blood and kin.

The disastrous exit of Miftah Ismail as Ishaq Dar was brought back from the fringes speaks volumes about this. Between doling out desirable positions like Halloween’s candy to the Kashmiri clan and perpetually basking in the glory of GT Road Party, there’s little wonder why PML(N) is unable to find new names for representation in the legislature. The patronage approach played a crucial role in adding to the appeal of PTI for the ruling elite from other regions of Pakistan.

South Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi had acted out of pure rage when they decided to bid farewell to the Sharif family. The elders may have been forced to reconsider their priorities as is evident from helicopter rides in all directions, but simply signing seat adjustment agreements cannot seal the deal. What about the confidence of a more aware, reawakened voter? Is he ready to put aside the personal strengths and achievements of the candidates on the ground and stamp the ballot just because he sees the menacing tiger? Very stubbornly but not at all surprisingly, PML(N) has failed to understand what the nation actually wants in a significantly changed political landscape. *