Will Ahmad Zahid’s ill attitude affect BN’s chances in this election? Perhaps not for die-hard Umno fans but this definitely cannot be said of non-Malay constituencies that require the support of swing votes.

Tuesday night, when BN announced its list of 160 candidates for the 15th general election, Ahmad Zahid did not include Kepong, Tanjung Karang, Jempol, Kuala Pilah, Tumpat and Kuala Nerus.

Was it because he had no confidence in winning these seats that he just gave up fielding his people there? Of course not. For instance, BN stands a big chance of recapturing Kuala Pilah, but what is BN up to? Only the BN chairman knows best!

After the release of the list, there are five groups of people who must have mixed feelings for the arrangements.

First, those fielded in “safe zones” to defend their seats must try to suppress their emotions and not to let their inner joys show. Umno president Ahmad Zahid and his deputy Mohamad Hasan are typical examples, having picked the easiest seats for themselves.

Second, those who are lauded by party as “pioneers” to open up new frontiers but are actually sent to tough battlegrounds where their chances are not more than 50%, Khairy Jamaluddin who uneasily moves his battlefield to Sungai Buloh being a classical example.

Third, those dropped from the candidates’ list and will therefore not participate in the coming election, including at least seven incumbent ministers and deputy ministers. These people are understandably very frustrated, but Ahmad Zahid is obstinately unapologetic. And to rub salt into their wounds, he even warns them not to pull the party’s leg and be party “traitors” just because they don’t get fielded in the election, arguing that “Umno has given them chances.”

Fourth, those given the opportunity to contest but are destined to lose, very likely their deposits, too. This group of candidates includes MCA’s Chong Yew Chuan in Cheras, Lee Kah Hing in Seputeh, and Tan Gim Tuan in Damansara. In the last election, DAP won by a landslide in these three constituencies with over 89% of votes, plus another 15 seats where DAP won more than 80% of votes. These seats will be contested mostly by MCA’s candidates. Basically their chances are zero!

Fifth, the “abandoned ally” MIC which only gets ten seats this time, many of which are for the sake of participation only with no chance whatsoever of winning. The irate party president Vigneswaran Sanasee had no choice but to boycott BN’s candidate announcement party just to save himself some face in front of his fellow Indian Malaysians. However, after thinking over it the whole night, he decided to, willingly or unwillingly, accept BN’s arrangement.

It was earlier rumored that Ahmad Zahid might not stand in the election for the sake of the party, but it was later proven that the “lust for power” inside him was way too strong to resist.

The same goes with Tun M, Anwar and the Lims of DAP. By the way, Ahmad Zahid is just another man of flesh and blood! He should be excused for the greed, shouldn’t he?

From the arrangements made by Ahmad Zahid, we can see very clearly that he has zero tolerance for the embarrassment of not being able to be prime minister despite the fact he is the most powerful man in the most powerful party in this country.

If he wants to reach the top, he must clean up his house, and he did this by taking out seven pro-Ismail cabinet members from the nomination list, and sending Khairy Jamaluddin to Sungai Buloh where BN only managed 21.4% of votes four years ago, vis-à-vis PKR’s 55.97%. Khairy only has his own luck to blame if he doesn’t make it there!

And since the mobilization plan was drawn up single-handedly by Zahid himself, if BN were to win the coming election, the president will have all his loyal people by his side. Whether BN wins or lose on November 19, Ismail Sabri has to kiss his PM office goodbye anyway.

The 15th general election was supposed to be favorable to the BN, but because of the president’s imprudent moves, including uprooting people close to Ismail Sabri and leaving MIC with only ten seats to contest, the coalition may not get what it wants in the end. Zahid was also not the favorite candidate among respondents taking part in the survey run by three research institutions in the country.

Will Ahmad Zahid’s ill attitude affect BN’s chances in this election? Perhaps not for die-hard Umno fans but this definitely cannot be said of non-Malay constituencies that require the support of swing votes.

MCA that has originally set its eyes on five to seven seats this time may become a victim of Zahid’s arrogance due to loss of swing votes.