KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Backchannel political cooperation has not generated grassroots synergy for Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Bersatu in the Melaka state election, leaving an openly coordinated Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional (BN-PN) pact on course to claim up to 24 seats, according to think tank Ilham Centre.

In a pre-polling study released on the eve of the vote, the research outfit found that the federal Confidence and Supply Agreement (CSA) between the Madani administration and Bersatu showed “little evidence of effectiveness” in forging voter-level alignment.

The firm noted that the arrangements conducted without open public messaging have alienated fence-sitters and left party loyalists adhering to traditional rivalries rather than pooling their votes.