Voters in Carlow have been urged to let county rather than party loyalty dictate how they exercise their franchise in the next general election.
In a move likely to inject further controversy into an already bitter campaign, Co Carlow Chamber of Commerce is calling on the local electorate to support Carlow-based candidates to ensure the county is adequately represented in the next Dail.
The move, says the chamber's chief executive, Mr Gerry Dunne, is a "wake-up call" to the people of Carlow who, he claims, have not been well served by politicians from Kilkenny.
The Carlow-Kilkenny constituency currently has four TDs from the larger county and just one from Carlow, and there is a chance Carlow could end up with no TD after the next election.
Fianna Fail's two deputies, Mr Liam Aylward and Mr John McGuinness, are based in Kilkenny, as is Fine Gael's Mr Phil Hogan and the Ceann Comhairle, Mr Seamus Pattison of Labour. Only Mr John Browne of Fine Gael is based in Carlow.
Mr Pattison's automatic reelection as Ceann Comhairle will effectively reduce the constituency to a four-seater next time, and Mr Browne faces an extremely tough battle to hold his seat.
Other Carlow-based candidates likely to be in the frame are Fianna Fail's Mr M.J. Nolan, who will be trying to regain the seat he lost to Mr McGuinness in 1997, the Green Party's Ms Mary White, and Labour's Mr Jim Townsend.
A possible outcome, however, is that the sitting Kilkenny deputies will retain their seats and be joined by Labour's Kilkenny-based candidate, Mr Joe Cody, at the expense of Mr Browne.
It will be one of the tightest contests in the general election, and several candidates are already canvassing.
Mr Dunne claimed that only one Kilkenny TD, Mr Aylward, had supported Carlow's position during the recent controversy over the proposed N9 motorway route, and it was clear the county needed increased representation in national politics.
"We're saying that if we haven't got somebody at the Cabinet table then at the very least we need a Government party TD in the Dail. We're calling on the people of Carlow to look at the candidates in the county who have the best chance of getting elected and voting for them."
Mr Nolan has already said he hopes the Carlow electorate will support the Carlow candidates. There is open hostility between himself and his Kilkenny-based Fianna Fail colleague, Mr McGuinness.
Mr Dunne denied his call could be viewed as unwarranted interference in the political system.
The chamber was not telling people what party or who to vote for, but unless they supported Carlow politicians there was a "huge danger" the county would be left with no representation in the next Dail.