The local elections in Rochdale could be the most unpredictable in years following the injection of a new MP into the area in George Galloway.
Come polling day on May 2, the usual battlegrounds in the borough are in Middleton and Littleborough wards, but the impact of the Workers Party leader arriving as the new MP in the area could shake things up.
The Workers Party has fielded 13 candidates in this year's local election out of 20 available seats. READ MORE: Kersal Dale murder victim, 67, is named and pictured after human remains found The question that remains is whether these candidates can invigorate the same level of popularity as their party leader did in the February by-election.
When Mr Galloway first announced he was running to take the Rochdale seat left vacant following the death of Labour's Sir Tony Lloyd, he was generally seen as a dark horse in the race.
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