Mr Ekendahl lodged his nomination with party headquarters in Melbourne ahead of today’s noon deadline.

He has contested the past two federal elections for the Liberals in the safe Labor seat of Melbourne Ports before last year returning to Wodonga where he previously worked in local radio.

In the 2013 election campaign, Mrs Mirabella supported Mr Ekendahl’s bid to win Melbourne Ports from sitting member Michael Danby, but two years later they will fight out a much anticipated pre-selection battle.

“Pre-selection is an internal party matter and I am limited as to what I can discuss with the media,” Mr Ekendahl said.

“I’m looking forward to a robust and competitive pre-selection process.”

Mr Ekendahl, 35, now operates his own business in Wodonga which specialises in high-level auditing for the vocational training and education sector.

The last time the Liberals were forced to conduct pre-selection in Indi was when Lou Lieberman retired from politics in the lead-up to the 2001 election.

Mrs Mirabella won pre-selection from a field of candidates which included the present member for Farrer and federal health minister, Sussan Ley.

Mrs Mirabella held Indi until 2013 when her defeat at the hands of independent Cathy McGowan sent shockwaves around the country.

Ms McGowan’s late father Paul was a member of the Liberal selection committee which chose Mrs Mirabella to be the party candidate.

The Indi pre-selection battle will be decided by about 250 party members on June 28 at a venue to be annnounced.

Every Indi branch member who has been a party member for more than two years and lives in the electorate is eligible to vote.

Depending on the number of eligible local Liberals who attend, up to 30 per cent of those at the convention may be party members from outside Indi who would also be invited to the conference and allowed to vote.

The decision by Mrs Mirabella to contest pre-selection has coincided with Ms McGowan refusing to confirm whether she will contest the next election due next year.