KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — With just five days left for candidates to campaign for positions in Umno’s three wings — Wanita, Youth and Puteri — the going appears to be still tame and slow.

Incumbent Wanita chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, with the backing of most of the movement’s exco members as well as state excos, continues to hold the lead against challengers Datuk Maznah Mazlan and Raihan Suleiman Palestin.

Shahrizat’s advantage of being an incumbent has helped her in the campaign and being recognised as a minister even until today has seen her move ahead despite the strict election code of ethics.

Maznah is a late bloomer in comparison, as the delegates are only just getting to know her. At this late stage, there is only so much Maznah could do to convince the delegates of her capabilities.

She could have caught up with Shahrizat in the race had she planned her challenge earlier, but her last-minute entry — which some read as a strategy to surprise Shahrizat — could be just a momentary pleasure. The field has become uneven for Maznah as she struggles to get her message across through all means, including blogs.

Raihan’s chances are said to be just “out of sync”. However, a blogger ran a poll and the finding showed Maznah leading far ahead, followed by Shahrizat and Raihan.

For Youth chief, incumbent Khairy Jamaluddin is still in the lead as far as press reports are concerned but the reality on the ground seems to paint a different picture.

Challenger Akhramsyah Sanusi appears to be getting a huge amount of support judging from the movement’s members talking about “going back to basics” on the role of youth, with bloggers pumping hard for the youth movement to play the role of Perkasa.

Khairy’s liberal and inclusive vision came under fire from bloggers who are now playing the role of campaigner for underdogs like Akhramsyah. And these blogs appear to be read by many judging by their heavy traffic of thousands a day.

With strict election guidelines and the fear of being disqualified, aspirants and incumbents alike are moving quietly and cautiously to meet delegates, wherever and whenever possible to get more exposure.

With some 80,000 delegates for Wanita, 70,000 for Youth and some 50,000 for Puteri, incumbents and aspirants are rushing against time to promote themselves.