With barely 18 hours to go, BN and Pakatan Rakyat are throwing everything they have in a last-minute effort to clinch victory in the Hulu Selangor race.

Both Prime Minister Najib Razak and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim are hoping to cash in on their popularity in the final hours of the campaign to win over undecided voters among the 65,000 constituents in this crucial by-election.

NONE Najib and Anwar will be spending the last day of the eight-day campaign to meet voters across the sprawling semi-rural parliamentary constituency, which is about the size of Malacca.

It’s the first time that Anwar will be doing a walkabout in the campaign, while it is rare for the prime minister to spend a full final day in a by-election campaign.

Given the size of the constituency, it is unlikely that both protagonists would run into each other.

The presence of the two big guns indicates that the poll tomorrow will be close as many analysts believe that the margin of victory will be no more than a few hundred votes, much like the 2008 general election where PKR emerged triumphant with only 198 votes.

The two top leaders will wrap up their campaign with grand finales of ceramahs tonight.

Anwar will be at the Stadium Mini in Kuala Kubu Bahru at 9pm, speaking with other Pakatan luminaries such as Nik Aziz, DAP's Lim Kit Siang, and PKR candidate Zaid Ibrahim.

Najib, on the other hand, will will begin his ceramah at 8.30pm to address the topic ' Legacy dan Harapan Bangsa ' (The legacy and hope of a nation) at Apartment Kenanga, Taman Bunga Raya, Bukit Beruntung.

Alongside Najib will be none other than former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib will not end there, however, as he is scheduled to attend a dinner function at 10.30pm at the BN's Operations Room at Kg Hulu Bernam.

Results out by 11pm tomorrow 

PKR's Zaid, 58, is facing MIC's P Kamalanathan, 44, in this 10th by-election since the 2008 general elections.

azlan Victory is important to both BN and Pakatan as Najib seeking to reverse a string of losses while the opposition aims to regain momentum after being battered by a number of defections.

Under election laws, campaigning must end at midnight to make way for a short cooling period before voters go to the ballot box tomorrow at 8am.  

Polling will end at 5pm and counting begins shortly after with the results expected to be known by 9.30pm.