With barely five days left, two major mayoral and 387 ward commissioner candidates and their supporters, activists, well-wishers and volunteers are now in frenzied campaign.

A total of 11,38,318 voters (6,85,444 male and 4,52,874 female) from 41 wards will choose their new mayor on May 9. They will cast their votes in 577 centres in the 60km city. About 10,500 presiding and polling officers from different educational institutions, public banks and government offices, and 450 magistrates will look after the polling from 8:00am to 4:00pm and the final counting, sources said.

The three-day training for presiding, assisting presiding and polling officers started here on Tuesday.

Security will be tightened during the polls, the third of its kind. Army, BDR, Armed Police Battalion (APBN), Ansar and Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) forces will be deployed to maintain law and order during the voting.

Of 21 mayoral contestants, the fight and focus will obviously be on the two major personalities -- Awami League-backed Nagorik Committee candidate ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, the incumbent mayor and ruling BNP-backed four-party alliance candidate Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, state minister for civil aviation and tourism.

Mohiuddin Chowdhury has 10 years experience and Mir Nasir 31 months in running the CCC as mayor. In their campaign they highlighted what they have done for Chittagong during their tenures and again came up with 40-point and 20-point promises to woo the voters.

Mohiuddin Chowdhury and Mir Nasir have different political beliefs and ideologies but, they are united at least on at one point that is the development of Chittagong. The rest lies in the minds of 11.38 lakh voters.