The battle for functional constituency seats in next month's elections will pitch supporters of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying seeking to gain a foothold in Legco against backers of his defeated rival Henry Tang Ying-yen looking to retain their influence.
The Beijing-loyalist camp has usually been united and dominant in the trade-based seats, but the division between Leung supporters and backers of Tang has become clear since nominations for the September 9 poll closed on Tuesday.
While just one lawmaker nominated Leung in the chief executive election in March - new development chief Paul Chan Mo-po - nine of his nominators will be contesting seven seats; four more will be elected unopposed.
Many of Tang's supporters have been reluctant to embrace Leung's leadership, despite attempts at reconciliation and encouragement from the central government to keep the Beijing-loyalist camp united.
But Leung's supporters are keen to play down suggestions that they are forming a united team.
In the engineering sector, former Institution of Engineers president Lo Wai-kwok, who nominated Leung, will take on Tang nominator and incumbent lawmaker Dr Raymond Ho Chung-tai, as well as the institution's current president, John Luk Wang-kwong, and pan-democrat Albert Lai Kwong-tak.
Lo, who has won the support of four engineering heavyweights, including Otto Poon Lok-to, who nominated Tang, denied he was a 'Leung fan'.
