THE battle lines may have been drawn, but they remain blurred to some even during the last hours of campaigning today.
Major political blocs are rushing to make the most of the final leg by holding press conferences, subtle meet-ups at coffee stalls and utilising ministerial visits to showcase their candidates.
While experts have raised concern over a low voter turnout on polling day tomorrow due to political fatigue and the Covid-19 scare, that did not deter several strategists from taking advantage of the situation.
The latest readings provided by political insiders from Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan suggested a potential BN victory through plurality, despite general cynicism towards the age-old coalition.
An Umno insider predicted that BN would win 14 out of the 28 seats contested, PN would win six and PH to retain eight.
The source declined to name the seats expected to be won, but said the party had originally predicted it could grab up to 18.
All the 14 seats it is gunning for were being contested by Umno, while MCA is likely to be wiped out in all seven seats it is running for. The same goes for MIC.
"We have to lower our expectations due to some strong seats held by DAP and the preferences of locals for several Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia candidates, who were originally from Umno."
The party was banking on an expected low voter turnout at about 30 per cent to ensure its victory.
"We have identified our supporters who will come out to vote. We will bring them out to the polling stations. They are mostly Malays who had traditionally voted for Umno in the past."
However, due to the tight Covid-19 standard operating procedures in place, the BN machinery had been spread thin to cater to constituencies with better chances of winning.
"This means we have to sacrifice a few, maybe even a local leader or two. But in reality, we cannot lose even a single seat. This really is a Catch-22 situation," said the Umno source.
As for PN, its insider claimed that the party could win fewer than 10 seats only, but not without taking down a few household names.
"We can defeat (Melaka Umno chief Datuk Seri Ab) Rauf (Yusoh) in Tanjung Bidara. The locals there prefer Datuk Seri Mas Ermieyati Samsudin given her service as the Masjid Tanah member of parliament.
"Bersatu can win at least four seats. I would not name the rest as I do not want our rivals to expand their focus there."
The outlook, however, appeared gloomy for Pas.
Pas, said the PN insider, only held eight per cent of the total votes in the state and were contesting in eight seats.
"So far, their machinery has not been effective even in seats with more than 50 per cent of Malays in their respective demography. Save for Serkam (which has about a 90 per cent Malay population). We don't think Pas can make it in other seats."
Asked about Gerakan's chances, the insider said while its candidates were rather proactive in their campaign, Chinese voters would likely reserve their votes for DAP.
On the other tip of the triangle, a PH insider projected that the party might win up to 12 seats, BN would hover between 16 and 18, while PN would lose in most seats.
"It's basically going to be a contest between BN and PH. PN is out of the equation. The low voter turnout will be in BN's favour."
The insider said DAP would win at least seven out of eight seats it was defending.
"We are also certain that PKR and Amanah have a high chance of winning too. But we are not sure about Asahan (contested by former Umno leader Datuk Seri Idris Haron under a PH ticket) and Pantai Kundor (contested by another former Umno leader Datuk Nor Azman Hassan).
"Having 'frogs' stamped on your forehead is a big no-no."
Nevertheless, the recent praise of PH's chief minister candidate Adly Zahari by former Melaka governor Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob could trigger a shift among traditional Umno voters.
"Khalil was an Umno leader known as someone who rarely spoke out of turn. And he is being apolitical when he described Adly as a pragmatic man, among others," said another source.
A wild card of sorts in the race is former DAP leader Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee, who remained a favourite among the Pengkalan Batu constituents.
Now running as an independent, he might end up as a winner and mobbed by parties needing the edge to form the state government.
But again, the tables may turn around against the favourable prediction for BN, if the voters come out in droves tomorrow.
