All four mayoral candidates in Chandanaish municipality of Chittagong have been campaigning long hours from early morning to midnight with the election day closing in.

Their vigorous electioneering has created huge enthusiasm among voters.

A total of 26,736 voters are expected to cast their votes to elect a mayor, nine councillors for nine general wards, and three female councillors in three reserved seats.

Although there are four mayoral hopefuls, locals said, the main battle would be fought between Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidate Md Ayub, also backed by BNP, and Awami League's Mahbubul Alam Khoka. The two others are Abdul Hakim of Islamic Front Bangladesh and independent candidate Jasim Uddin.

Chandanaish is a stronghold of LDP chief Col Oli Ahmad because he developed road infrastructure of the upazila as communications minister in early 1990s, said locals, so Ayub had a good chance to win.

Ayub is also the outgoing mayor and had won two consecutive terms.

His rival, Mahbubul, an executive member of Chandanaish upazila unit of AL, however, said people had turned on Oli. There are no street lights, the drainage system is poor, and people suffer in receiving services like getting birth certificates, he told The Daily Star.

The municipality election is slated for December 30.