What’s a foolproof way to brand something as a failure? Tell tales out of school. Let senseless chatter take the lead, sit back and relax as the propaganda travels around the world. What to do if the propaganda machinery is being fuelled by lobbying that’s worth millions and rubber-stamped by those who have an international standing? The upcoming elections are under attack. Nothing new about that. Every election in the relatively short democratic history of the country has had its fair of controversies. That the militancy too has reared its ugly head at the most unfortunate time cannot be overlooked. But the greatest threat of all comes not from those who wish to tear through crowds of innocent civilians but those who are determined to create doubts in their minds. Considering how PTI is yet to come to terms with the fact that it was its own legal shortcoming and inability to take either one stitch or nine, it is busy concocting a hotchpotch of strategies to lay claims to victory on February 8. While the most obvious trick was to clap hands on the mandate of independent candidates, it is not the only trick in the playbook. Whether they wish to do so or not, any candidate not running through the platform of any political party is being touted as the one endorsed by the PTI. The greatest threat of all comes not from those who wish to tear through crowds of innocent civilians but those who are determined to create doubts in their minds. Talks abound of how their victories, their contributions to the local community and their personal achievements would be very conveniently used to brag about the party’s own influence in the political sphere on Friday. The large number of independent candidates, many of whom have strong constituent influence, bring a layer of complexity to the electoral landscape. There’s an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty over who would use them to form the government. Former prime minister Imran Khan and his entire machinery are fully aware of this dilemma and using the situation to their best use. Just a cursory glance at the past trends would reveal how independent candidates have routinely won a large number of seats. Back in 2013, around 40 candidates managed to win the electoral race without the backing of any political party. The friends of yesterday may have parted ways today but Imran Khan had used the same independent candidates, relying on someone’s aeroplane, to form government in 2018. Had all those people who later joined his party also won because of Imran and his party’s influence? Because simply owning the successes of others is not enough, there’s a lot of dirty work going on to downplay the performances of others. Even though survey upon survey reveals a slip in PTI’s popularity, which is being quickly replaced by the likes of PMLN and PPP, the former insists every Pakistani is holding pom-poms for them. The highs gained by other parties are nothing but a mirage, they claim. And the lows registered by others are only because they are fighting against the whole system. So what if the people have realised their struggle against sky-touching inflation and overwhelming unemployment does not amount to much in the PTI policies? It is easy to dismiss hard truths if you have foreign lobbying firms working overtime. The writer is a freelance columnist.