The Result

'No, brother. You can not defeat poverty with education,' said Leon and banged his fist on the rostrum. 

The audience did not laugh because the previous dialogues had established that point pretty much.

But Abner failed to hide his smile. He said, 'So, you are saying that education is inapt to fight poverty. That our schools are useless and we must expel the teachers from their job because they are keeping this nation poor.'

Leon dangled the hook, and Abner happily got entangled in it. By blaming teachers and schools, Abner involved another demography to this debate.

Abner and Leon were fighting for the empty senate seat. Both were emerging candidates, and they were there to make a difference. Only one of them would get that chance to make a difference. Most likely, the result of this debate would predict the outcome.  

'No, schools & respected teachers made us worthy of what we are,' he folded his hands & bowed to the camera while saying that. A round of applause erupted from the audience.

'Don't insult them. Those hard-working teachers and school staff are the sculptors that dedicate their entire life to mold our future generation. Only the chisel and the hammer with which they are crafting our future generation needs some upgrade. Instead of giving textbook lessons, the focus should be more on learning skills. The subjects that include financial education, how to handle emotions, how to make things that are essential for survival etc. should be in the course. Let go of the textbooks that force us to remember things that would not put bread and butter on our table. We must...' 

The applause forced Leon to stop his argument. 

Abner took the chance and jumped in and said, 'So by teaching them how to earn money will solve all the problems. History is of no importance.'

'Yes & No, my friend. Teach them to fish, and you will never have to worry about them. And History has its importance because it will inform them where their elders used to catch the fish. Thus, they can avoid that spot. One must know but should not dedicate their entire life to learning history. I am not saying everything is useless, only that we must know where to use which.'

The answer was vague and somewhat ambiguous, but Leon's team had given the clues to the paid supporters as to where to clap and where to shout. They applauded this answer, and naturally, everyone followed them. 

The debate continued for another hour, and if the number of applause can indicate the winner, then Leon was the champion. Leon was not a leader material like Abner was, but situations forced Leon to stand among the giant and learn their craft. 

The ruling party selected Leon as one of the primary candidates for the position of senator. It was all of a sudden for Leon. He enjoyed a fair share of public life, but to hold a position of power and the responsibility that comes with it was something new for him. He was not so sure about that. Leon's family members were somehow able to convince him to fight at least until the primary election.  

Leon was able to make it through the primary election, and now the sole focus was to defeat Abner. 

The ruling party gave Leon a team of professionals that were going to make sure of his win. All of the members of Leon's team were the part of the presidential election, and their efforts were visible in that presidential election. The president retained his office with the largest margin that the nation had never seen. Plus, the approval rating of the president was up the charts. All thanks to the professional team that was now at the disposal of Leon. 

The importance of this senate seat was quite evident from the efforts of the ruling party. This seat was the deciding vote for one of the influential senate bill that will change how the government procures the weapons in this nation. Without the say-so of this senate chair, the bill might face a hurdle, and the ruling party was not interested in even slightly screwing this change to make a difference. So, they were all in for this seat. 

Leon was not aware of this, and all he knew was that the party choose him for his public welfare work in the past and that his grandfather was also a senator. Leon's father dropped that baton, but the party was gracious enough to hand over that baton to Leon. Leon had already grabbed that baton with two hands, and he was running with all the strength he can accumulate. 

But, the opinion poll painted some other picture. Leon was nowhere near Abner. Abner was leading on all front. It was like the presidential team was failing to make their mark. Un-employment was the issue that was at the center of this fight, and Abner, with his multi-billion dollar industries, was the people's first choice. 

Leon was projecting the revival of the system while Abner was ready to bring jobs. 

People trust the outcome more than the experiment. 

Thus, the majority of them favored Abner, the Industrialist, who was about to start the manufacturing plants in that state. It was the common thing that both the camps were projecting to the voters. The promise of new jobs coming their way as soon as they elect Abner to the chair. 

Abner made more than six television ads on this topic. 

Leon promised reforms while Abner promised jobs in hand. Anyone would vote for Abner. 

Leon's team were also counting on that. They were also promoting Abner's ad to reach that promise to every corner of that state. Their next move relied on the wide-spread of that message. 

Leon's team had rigged the opinion polls by training supporters and paying some opponents to say that they will vote for Abner. It will boost the morale of Abner's team, and they will stick to that solid point of manufacturing plants coming to the state. 

Abner's team will let go of the other appealing promises and focus more on that manufacturing plant. It will set the stage for Leon's team to come and take it all. All they need to do is to twist some facts and leak some documents that would break that promise of Abner. 

Only 36 hours were remaining in the election, and Leon's team began their plan. They twisted some facts about the recent visit of Abner to mainland China. They leaked forged documents that indicated that Abner was moving all of his manufacturing plants to China, and when he becomes the senate, he will ease the sanctions on that nation with the help of his colleagues in the senate. There was also a photo of Abner shaking hands with one of the Communist provincial governors to prove that claim. 

This leak was not the end of Abner, but the press conference on the next day nailed him to his coffin. 

He had made a deal to move one of the manufacturing plants to that nation because the consumer of that product was that nation only. It cuts all of his transportation costs, and due to the cheap labor, it was a win-win for him. So, he signed a deal the previous year, when he was unaware of his chances of running for senate. His party chose him after this deal. 

Abner tried to reason with the press, but when he confirmed that the photograph was not fake, people automatically took the document for real. Fear spread, and it spread like wild-fire. 

Leon's team added gasoline with social media, and the fire reached every corner of the state. Now the choice was between a reliable emerging son of the nation and a deceiving industrialist who was loyal to money. 

All of them choose the former on the election day. The results indicated that.