LAHORE  -  The dawn of 8 Feb marked yet anoth­er election day , people filled paths, streets and roads to exercise their right to vote. The polling went off relatively peacefully in most of the contituencies and quelled the fear of widespread vio­lence. The results were more or less an­ticipated and no political party secured single majority to form the govern­ment at its own, so a hinged govern­ment was unavoidable. A marriage of convenience or a council of common in­terests will set the stage. It may sound prudent to highlight that coalition gov­ernments were experienced as prodi­gious feats in our chequered history but eventually proved to be weak, un­wieldy, prone to manipulation and end­ed up as fabulous monsters. Moreover, such coalitions were all about power but bereft of public purpose. PDM-2 is in the offing and it is being predicted that this minority government is not likely to ensure stability but will fur­ther push the country to instability, confrontation and divide. Punjab and Sindh Chief Ministers have taken oath. Maryam Nawaz,is the first ever female and fourth member of ‘House of Sharif’ to secure this coveted and prestigious seat. In Sindh Murad Ali Shah made a come back to ensure his hat trick. Al­exander the great when lay on death­bed was asked “ who would inherit his kingdom”, he replied vehamently that it should go to “ The Strongest”. In third world countries ‘ Qabool’ enjoys significance as compare to ‘ Maqbool’. A flash back reveals that the politics in our country used to revolve around political stratagem, braderies, derras, hujras and the verdicts of local kings i.e Chaudhries, maliks, sardars and infamous saiens. The commons were always exploited, downcasted rather downtrodded and the minacicus com­mand of local stalwarts used to steer them in the direction they wished to. Imran khan, a sportsman turned phi­lanthropist and statesman has given a new vision to electoral process. He spent the complete duration of cam­paign in jail, disqualified from run­ning in, still he did not sit like a duck, instead has been rallying his support­ers using tech- savvy strategy, artificial intelligence(AI) and lead them from behind the bars. This is first time any political party has used artificial intel­ligence in election campaign.This all encouraged the voters to come out at their own stream , they opined with vigour and winked to the dictates of so­ciety. The vote counts showed PTI affili­ated candidates did put up a good show and won most of the seats .The party leadership claim that the true number won by PTI backed candidates is 154 but allegedly dozens were taken away in what is called widespread rigging or manipulation. The two other politi­cal parties and arch rivals, PML(N) and PPP are also legacy parties run by most powerful and influential ‘Sharif and Bhutto dynasties’. Who have held pow­er during different times over genera­tions. Despite having lot of resources at hand could not make a considerable headway. Most of seniors of both the parties have lost their seats badly. An indepth study and critical analysis of electoral process reveal astonishing facts to help in deducing conclusions. 

A new phenomenon experienced for the first time in the aftermath of general election. Following poll routs Siraj ul Haq, Amir of socio-religio party Jamat-e-Islami stepped down, Jehangir Tareen , a business tycoon and head of newly formed IPP opted to jet out of IPP. Disappointed and dejected Per­vez Khattak announced a clean break from politics. Above all desperate Fazal ur Rahman is running from pil­lar to post with his empty knapsack. The people sitting at the helm of af­fairs must look inward and recondite facts that the stiff breeze that makes the sails bag out is always a short lived. Sarwar Bari, a social activist and analyst rightly opined on social media “ ROs must be punished not for rigging but for being so stupid and inept”. The wheeling , dealing and po­litical engineering is going on, no one enjoys a clear majority. Its impera­tive to show flexibility, matureness and mellowness to ensure peace, stability and smooth transaction. We hope and pray for the peace,political and economic stability the country wide , knowing well that “ Hope lies in dreams, in imaginations and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality”.