THE final piece in the Indi 2016 puzzle is about to be locked into place with the National Party to finally pre-select its candidate for the next federal election.
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Pre-selection will be held at the Wangaratta Turf Club on November 14 and will be a race in two between Marty Corboy and Greg Lawrence.
Mr Corboy will start a strong favourite to be the chosen candidate.
But the burning question remains has the party given itself enough time to be a realistic chance of winning the seat whenever Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull pulls the trigger on the election date?
If not, what role will the Nationals play in the final wash-up to decide Indi?
The facts are they have given many of their key rivals including the present member for Indi Cathy McGowan and her predecessor, Liberal Sophie Mirabella, a huge head start.
They are already in full campaign mode.
The last time the Nationals contested Indi their candidate, the late Don Chambers, attracted only 12 per cent of the primary vote.
Granted, that was 14 years ago, but there is still no escaping the fact the Nationals have some serious work to do to improve on the 2001 result and be a serious player come election day.
The Nationals weren't able to make any inroads in two state Liberal strongholds in south-west Victoria last weekend.
They also have to contend with the emergence of the Australian Country Party, formerly known as Country Alliance, which has selected former Wangaratta councillor Julian Fidge as its candidate.
Indi will be one of the most watched seats on election day with the jostling between the major players for preferences to be even more intriguing.
The Liberals are still smarting about some Indi Nationals deserting the Coalition in 2013 when little more than 500 votes decided the eventual winner.
Deputy leader Barnaby Joyce was one of the few National Party heavyweights to publicly support Mrs Mirabella in 2013.
But predictably with the Nationals able to field a candidate this time around party loyalty means he is backing Mr Corboy.
Indi was a brutal battle in 2013 with the Nationals needing to overcome a slow start to be a serious player.