Fierce infighting among the pan-democratic candidates in the Legislative Council election was inevitable after the nomination period closed. But few people anticipated that the jockeying for seats could turn ugly and become potentially damaging to the whole camp as the campaign heated up.
As in previous polls, there were clashes between democrats and government allies in election forums.
Yet the war of words among pro-democracy candidates has proved much more bitter than anticipated. While spicing up the race, it has created an air of uncertainty over the election results.
In Kowloon East, scathing attacks by Andrew To Kwan-hang, of the League of Social Democrats, against the Democratic Party and the Civic Party have prompted candidates from those two parties to call on Mr To not to fire salvos at the wrong targets.
Mr To has accused the Democrats of wrongly backing the government's move to privatise the Link Reit investment trust, thus paving the way for hefty rent rises in public housing commercial and parking facilities. In Kowloon West, League of Social Democrats chairman Wong Yuk-man has lambasted the Civic Party's Claudia Mo Man-ching in the same way he did the candidates from the pro-Beijing, pro-government flagship party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
Mr Wong accused the Civic Party of applying double standards in its fight for democracy, and being elitist.