KUALA LUMPUR - Trends that are beginning to emerge midway into Malaysia’s most fiercely fought general election are pushing the three main contesting political coalitions to tweak their strategies as they leverage early gains and address initial setbacks to woo a largely undecided electorate.

Politicians from Umno, which is the lynchpin of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, said the leadership’s decision this week to sack four party leaders who defected to contest on rival tickets after being dropped from the candidates’ list has helped restore party discipline.