LAHORE, Pakistan - If one Pakistan ruling party rally with awkward speeches, empty audience chairs and distracted crowds in a dustbowl is anything to go by, President Pervez Musharraf's days in power may be numbered.
Tuesday night's rally in a poor, smoggy Lahore neighbourhood was for Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a quietly spoken man running as Musharraf's de facto prime ministerial candidate in January 8 elections and a possible political kingmaker.
"Prime minister!" shouted one supporter in front of a huge TV screen, to a crowd of only several thousand in the capital of Punjab province, where Elahi once served as chief minister. "Pervaiz Elahi!" the crowd shouted back.
The candidate, who promises to continue with the unpopular Musharraf's legacy, had arrived in a gleaming BMW hoping for up to 20,000 people to usher him in with his own anthem playing.
As Elahi slammed his opponents, aides on the carpet-laden podium tried to inspire the crowd, beckoning them to clap and wave their green flags.
But scores started exiting to streets where hundreds of goats, cows and camels waiting for slaughter for a Muslim Eid holiday competed for space with campaign buses and party aides' Range Rovers.
Elahi is the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) candidate in a three-way battle with opposition leaders and former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, both back after years in exile despite corruption charges hanging over them.
Elahi could be Musharraf's trump card. Punjab, Pakistan's wealthiest province, accounts for nearly half of parliamentary seats. Critics say he still wields huge influence over the state machinery to skew a victory in Musharraf's favour.
HIGH STAKES
The stakes are high. With polls showing a possible hung parliament, Elahi may become a power player as either Musharraf or the opposition try to form a parliamentary majority.
An opposition-run parliament could move to impeach Musharraf over accusations he acted unconstitutionally in securing a new term as president. Musharraf ended more than six weeks of emergency rule on Saturday.
As the campaign gets into gear, Elahi has avoided mentioning Musharraf in many speeches. Commentators say he is wary of being linked too much to a leader on a popularity slide.
In his rally speech, he mentioned Musharraf only twice.
