There's a lion in the cage next to me. No, I am not kidding- I am travelling in a forklift about fifty feet high, making my way up to the dais from where Mian Nawaz Sharif, the original Loin of Punjab is about to make a speech.

Why the feline company? Its simple really, Sharif's symbol is always on the stage when he addresses an election rally. So for the entire national assembly election campaign of January 1997, all 30-odd circus lions in Pakistan have been requisitioned by the Pakistan Muslim League (unsplit in those days). Because of the vast crowds that come to see Sharif, the stage is set several floors above, so everyone can see him. But, I am thinking, cramped just a little too close to the cage bars for comfort, it also probably ensures Mian Sahb doesn't lose any prospective voters just in case the beast gets peckish. The crowds go wild- people are clambering on and off our precarious perch- others are throwing coins and notes at the stage- it's a dream spectacle for any politician- albeit a bit of a nightmare for the poor Lion.Its our subcontinental version of the game of democra-ck-me-up at its best.

As Nawaz Sharif begins his speech, though, the talk turns to horses. Benazir's horses are rumoured to have been fed with murabba-jam when she was Prime Minister, and its Sharif's favourite story this campaign. "Ghodo ko murabba, aur garibon ko chaara bhi naseeb nahin,' he thunders.

The results of the election thunder him back to power- His PML won more than 130 of the 207 NA seats. It was a win smiled upon by the military- after all; Sharif was the protégé of Gen Zia-Ul-Haq. But Pakistani politics is all about irony - and ten years later it is Benazir, daughter of a man toppled from power and then hanged by General Zia, who is returning to the country on a deal with the Fauji, while Nawaz Sharif gnashes his teeth at his Saudi home. (Not unlike my ferocious companion in the forklift.)

But when BB-Fauji raazi, then kya karega Mian?

Back to 1997- Benazir's campaign by comparison to Nawaz is not chaotic at all. We are assigned seat numbers in her helicopter, and issued noise-cancelling headphones (in Sharif's chopper, we often sit on the floor, as it is always overloaded with supporters, who casually open a window mid-air to throw out campaign pamphlets to villages below).

BB rests in a section curtained off from the rest of us, and we get five-six square meals a day, even though it is Ramzaan. The 18-seater is upholstered in pristine white, and the air temperature is just right. On Nawaz's chopper our Iftaar consists of simple dates and dry fruit. Aboard BB's luxury liner, it's a 10-course meal. Her speeches are more about her family and her father than about policies or even attacking Sharif, but across Sind atleast, the crowds are just as ecstatic as they are in Punjab for Sharif. Eventually though the enthusiasm doesn't translate to votes in 1997, and Benazir, her family, and presumably the fabled ghodas had to beat a hasty exile into London.

I missed being on Nawaz's attempted re-entry flight to Pakistan last month, and I will probably miss being on BB's later this month, but I am sure some of those comparisons remain the same a decade later. For Pakistan, too, the choices remain the same- a completely free and fair election today would pit Benazir against Nawaz all over again, and many believe Nawaz would emerge the winner like in 1997. Imran Khan too would be in the same spot- negligible number of votes, but high visibility with those glamorous campaign managers- missing only perhaps, a veiled Jemima at his fabulous Dacha on a hill-top outside Islamabad.

And what of the General-President, and soon to be General/President? None of the extravagances of politics (or real-politik?). His home in Rawalpindi looks just like the home of any high-ranked fauji in India. Cane-chair lined verandahs, medals and military memorabilia side by side with porcelain figures and small swarovski pieces. But that's it. The gulfstream jet that operates as Pakistan 1- can seat about 15, is neat and streamlined, without fuss. It lands and takes off with precision- (Musharraf's own take-off from the scene has become admittedly messy though). And when he tours the countryside, the crowds are well-managed and controlled.

And as I hear him celebrating his victory on saturday night- saying "democracy means winning a majority", I just want to say this. There's nothing more fun than a real election in Pakistan- their version of it is just as vibrant, enthusiastic and inclusive as ours is. The General might want to try it some time.