In Munshiganj town, the Awami League leader running for parliament as an independent seems to have more party leaders rallying behind him than the party nominee.

Mohammad Faisal, a two-time mayor of the municipality, is vying for Munshiganj-3 constituency as an independent.

Mrinal Kanti Das, the current MP, is running with the AL electoral symbol of a boat. But almost all the top leaders in the district are campaigning for Faisal, whose electoral symbol is a pair of scissors.

A total of 11 people are vying for the constituency which comprises Munshiganj sadar and Gazaria. But Faisal and Mrinal's campaigns are by far the most visible in the town.

One of the reasons why Faisal has so many leaders joining him on the campaign trail is because he spends more time with local politicians than Mrinal, who often lives in Dhaka, according to local leaders.

The fact that Faisal's father Mohammad Mohiuddin has been the president of Munshiganj district AL for 32 years gives the so-called AL independent an additional advantage.

The one thing Faisal lacks is the AL's electoral symbol.

Several local AL leaders, requesting anonymity, said Mrinal is somewhat alienated from the local leaders even though he became the Munshiganj-3 MP twice. 

"He doesn't have any support from his party colleagues. He became an MP uncontested and without any vote being cast. Activists have never valued him, and they never will," Afsar Uddin Bhuiya, president of Munshiganj Sadar AL, told a rally last week.

Men who are close to Mrinal acknowledge that he tried his best to get more involved in local politics, but his rivalry with Faisal's father Mohiuddin has been an impediment.

The rivalry between Mrinal and Mohiuddin began before the 2014 national election when the AL chose the former to be the MP over the latter.

As supporters of the two leaders engaged in violent clashes in the last four days, at least 14 people were injured.

On their campaign trails, both Mrinal and Faisal are making promises of development in the area.

Faisal is saying that the area needs development work because Mrinal has hardly done anything as an MP while Mrinal is seeking another chance to "finish the ongoing development initiatives".

According to locals and civil society members, residents of the area are enthusiastic about the election mostly because they believe there will be "real competition between the two AL leaders".

Contacted, Faisal said, "He [Mrinal] has not kept the party leaders close to him because of his arrogance. That's why he lacks the popularity that I have."

There are 4,80,241 voters in Munshiganj-3.

However, Mrinal has claimed that some members of his party have been spreading lies about him.