Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has declared that now the contest is going to be strictly between two parties—PPP and Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz.

Addressing a rally in Balochistan’s Dera Murad Jamali as part of his election campaign, the aspirant for the premiership, Bilawal, claimed that “only two parties are left now. You have to decide between PPP and PML-N”.

It increasingly appears that both PPP and PML-N deriving a lot of satisfaction from the growing misery of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which no longer has its electoral symbol of bat, given the apex court of the country allowed the appeal of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against a high court decision a day ago.

It is no secret that despite court’s orders, PTI’s founder Imran Khan was not allowed to hold meetings with his party leaders on the distribution of tickets to party candidates for the February 8 general elections.

How ironic, however, it is that the country’s most popular politician is in jail from where, of course, he cannot run his party’s election campaign while Nawaz Sharif, who remained convicted for years until his conviction was overturned only recently by the court, can conduct his campaign freely and independently.

That the prospects of PTI have received a big setback is a fact. In other words, the ECP has literally thrown PTI out of the election fray instead of responding to its request of providing it a level playing field. On the other hand, however, the situation has suddenly brightened the prospects of both PPP and PTI.

It seems like they have let the sweet smell of victory cloud their judgment, as the February 8 election is one of the most baffling in the entire history of the country.

Abu Adnan (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024