The battle for Bradford West looks set to be one of the most colourful in the whole of the UK.

Bradford’s ‘celebrity politician’ George Galloway is used to grabbing the headlines, so perhaps it should be no surprise that this year the national media is showing intense interest in his fight to retain his seat for Respect.

And with Labour making it a priority to oust Mr Galloway after losing so painfully in the 2012 by-election, things are getting personal.

Love him or hate him, the Respect leader does not talk, or behave, like your average politician.

Whereas the right has Nigel Farage, the left has George Galloway - a renegade voice standing apart from the seemingly distant, London-centric Westminster establishment.

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It was this difference that arguably allowed Mr Galloway to captivate the electorate of Bradford West in the 2012 by-election, when he swept into Parliament with a massive 10,000 majority, after having secured more than half of all votes cast.

His resounding victory in what was considered a safe Labour seat sparked an internal review of what went wrong for Ed Miliband’s party.

Now it would appear that the major parties, faced with the quandary of having to choose someone to contest the seat, have decided to fight fire with fire.

Those standing include the campaigning daughter of a woman convicted of murder, a former international journalist who has faced death threats and a veteran of the Falklands and first Gulf wars - all people with dramatic life stories to rival Mr Galloway’s.

The Labour campaign got off to a false start, when its original candidate Amina Ali stepped down just days after being selected by local party members.

But party bosses soon replaced her with local charity boss Naz Shah, best known as the campaigning daughter of Zoora Shah, who was convicted of murdering an abuser and later released early from prison.

When Ms Shah published her own telling of her personal story online earlier this year, it soon went viral.

Also standing are former Times correspondent George Grant for the Conservatives, Bradford district councillor Alun Griffiths for the Liberal Democrats, Royal Navy veteran Harry Boota for Ukip, Celia Hickson for the Greens, Therese Hirst for the English Democrats and Independent James Kirkcaldy.

The contest between Ms Shah and Mr Galloway is looking close - William Hill is offering odds of 8/13 on the Respect leader retaining his seat, and odds of 11/10 for a Labour win.

And some political hustings have proved fiery affairs between the two, with personal details, as well as policy, coming under the spotlight.

But expectations of a two-horse race could be confounded. This is Bradford West after all, where anything is possible. And perhaps there is a danger the ‘personality politics’ are threatening to outshine the issues affecting the constituency.

Joblessness may be at its lowest level in seven years across the district, but it remains a big problem in Bradford West.