The one seat added to the Kowloon West geographical constituency for the Legislative Council election might attract about 10 tickets from different ends of the political spectrum and independents to join the fray.
Tsang Yok-sing, a veteran member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said he expected fierce competition among the tickets for five seats in September's Legislative Council election, amid speculation that Lau Chin-shek, who holds one of the four existing seats, will not seek re-election.
Mr Lau could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Sources familiar with the situation said the Liberal Party would support Michael Tien Puk-sun, the former KCR Corporation chairman and younger brother of party chief James Tien Pei-chun, though he is not a member. The sources said it was more important that Michael Tien, newly elected as a National People's Congress deputy, was seen as pro-establishment.
Another possible candidate is district councillor Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, associate professor of law at City University, who said she was seriously considering running.
'I think we should let voters decide who they want to support. My supporters are encouraging me to fight for their interests, not only at district level. They say I should go beyond that.'
