A veritable festive mood prevails in the town, bedecked with posters, fastoons and banners hung by rival BNP activists, now aligned with the two candidates. Hectic campaign by the candidates stopped Tuesday night.

Sitting municipal chairman and Srimongol upazila BNP president Mohsin Miah Modhu and his uncle and former lawmaker Ahad Miah are the main contenders.

Ahad, after being defeated by Awami League's Abdus Shahid in 1996 parliamentary polls with a big margin, quit Jatiya Party and joined BNP. He is now vice-president of Moulvibazar district BNP.

To many voters, Mohsin is a 'strong candidate' because being a ruling party man, he also mustered support from groups in other political parties including Awami League.

But Ahad is also a formidable candidate, they say.

Independent runners Mansur Bakht Chowdhury and MA Malek are in the race for the second

time for the post. Two others-- former Union Parishad chairman Md Afzal Haque and Jalal Mia are also independent candidates for the post.

Forty-one persons are contesting for nine posts of ward commissioner and seven for the reserved seats of women commissioners. There are 16,373 voters.

There are concerns as well. The administration has identified eight polling centres as vulnerable. Additional security measures would be taken for these centres, an official said.

In the last pourashava election, gunshots were fired and ballot boxes snatched at Udayan Girls High School and Upazila Parishad Auditorium centres, resulting in armed clashes.

Established in 1935, Srimangal, an important commercial centre and 'tea capital' of the country, was upgraded to Class 1 pourashava few years back. The upazila has the highest number of tea gardens in the country.