A tight race is expected to occur in Banten’s gubernatorial election on Feb. 15 between the incumbent candidate pair of Rano Karno and Embay Mulya Syarief and their challengers Wahidin Halim and Andika Hazrumy, as both tickets have strong backing.

The Wahidin-Andika ticket would likely be supported by Andika’s family, Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) head Titi Anggraeni said.

Andika is the son of former Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, who took office in 2007, before she was imprisoned for her involvement in a graft case in 2014. The dynasty may continue to reign in the province should Andika win this year’s election.

Atut’s relatives who ran for and won elections include Serang regent Ratu Tatu Chasanah, Serang mayor Tubagus Haerul Jaman and South Tangerang regent Airin Rachmi Diany. Andika, who is currently a House of Representatives member, is Atut’s son.

“Atut’s influence is still very strong in Banten,” Titi said Sunday.

(Read also: Wahidin-Andika most popular candidates ahead of Banten election: Survey)

The ticket, however, faced a tough challenge, as many Banten residents oppose the dynasty, Titi went on. The critics of the dynasty had pinned their hopes on the Rano-Embay ticket.

In a recent survey held by Jakarta-based pollster Political Survey Institution (LSP), the Wahidin-Andika ticket was favored by 39.5 percent of respondents, followed by the Rano-Embay ticket with 32.1 percent. (trw)