Daily Times

In an atmosphere as politically charged as ours, Senate elections were bound to be anything but a recipe for chaos. As the PPP has firmly mounted the united opposition campaign with antagonising rhetoric, the ground seems set for its heads-on coalition with the government.

It seems routine matter to schedule meetings to garner support for your candidate and therefore, PPP’s chiefs are in the right for putting their heads together for Yousaf Raza Gilani’s sake. No matter how well-established the former prime minister’s reach may be in the political alleys, opposition parties appear all the more keen to stage the perfect upset. Even Gillani’s candidature received across-the-board support from all parties–under the banner of PDM–because of his said ability to nibble away some of the ruling coalition votes. Intending to use his family’s decades-old clout while cashing on the backdoor alliances made during his prime ministership, Multan’s heavyweight is cheery at his prospects. After all, he did serve in a government known for its reconciliatory and accomodating policies, if nothing else!

Provided that the PDM succeeds in denting the ruling majority in the upper house, a chaos of unknown proportions would be set loose in the lower house. The PTI administration needs a substantial win to keep on marshalling new legislations. Not having the Senate numbers to do so would be extremely embarrassing and counter-productive for its remaining tenure. Going by the opposition benches’ claims, there might even be calls for a vote of no confidence to take the prime minister’s scalp. Gillani versus PM Imran Khan’s finance advisor, Hafeez Sheikh, showdown would, thus, be the perfect prelude to their designs for an in-house change.

PDM’s grand agenda aside, no elections can, rather should, allow for hyperbole that may risk inciting violence. With two lives lost in Sialkot and attacks of armed men on polling stations in Malir during the by-elections held this week, the stakes are already touching skies. An unfortunate falling out indeed!

Instead of letting the cooler heads prevail on the Senate election campaign, irresponsible allegations are flying left, right and centre. The latest in the spell of masala politics has come from the PPP’s Information Secretary. Descending into wild exaggeration, she has accused the prime minister of selling his party MPAs to ATMs. If this is not vindictive conjecture, what is?

Playing the so-called aggrieved ranks within the ruling party to own advantage is just part of the game. But even such trading of loyalties should be partaken in a manner that does not reek of absolute indecency. The viral video of wads of cash being used to buy off legislators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the ongoing national conversation about seat adjustments has cemented one fact for sure: the PDM is all in to orchestrate a series of events that the government is in no position to take control of. Whether it breaks all stumps on the way (leading the treasury benches to cause a far greater conundrum of chaos) remains to be seen. *