Electoral politics

BY and large the results of the by-elections confirm the February 18 electoral outcome. The two major coalition partners, the PML(N) and the PPP, carried the day while the PML(Q) was trounced. The voter turnout was quite low and there were incidents of violence both of which reinforce the typical traits of our body politic. However the feature that stands out prominent is the performance of the PML(N) which stood head and shoulders above over others especially its coalition partner PPP. Broadly speaking, its achievement is that it succeeded in hanging on to the seats that had been vacated by its candidates, unlike the PPP, which lost two seats of the Punjab Assembly, in Khanewal and Muzaffargarh. This has its symbolical import as well. Since southern Punjab was considered to be a PPP stronghold, the failure of the party to retain those seats appears to be a telling blow to the party. This could also be seen in the context of the Punjab Governor earlier saying that he would turn the provincial capital into a PPP fortress. By contrast, the show put up by the PML(N), which won six provincial and three NA seats, must be reassuring to that party. Maybe the PPP needs to be girding up its loins for the present results in a way reveal its decreasing popularity. The lukewarm attitude of its leaders towards the most burning issues, like the failure to resolve the judicial crisis, could further become a source of its downfall. But seen in the backdrop of the ongoing campaign against the President, the polls might further strengthen the coalition's quest for presidential impeachment.