DAP has hit the ground running since nominations closed on Sunday with an intensive schedule of walkabouts in the Kinta Valley, Perak.

In contrast, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates appear to have adopted a more relaxed itinerary, but there could well be a sting in the tail for this approach.

The DAP top brass have been scrambling from one ceramah to another every night and then going on walkabouts during the day.

dap ipoh ceramah 240208 lim kit siang 2 DAP adviser and Ipoh Timor incumbent Lim Kit Siang, for example, has averaged three ceramah between 7pm and midnight each night.

However, a MCA party worker in the constituency likened the 13-day campaign as a marathon and not a sprint, saying: “Its okay that the opposition gets a head start. We won't be tired.”

MCA Buntong state seat candidate Lee Tung Lai has gone for the tested formula.

buntong state 260208 lee tung lai "In the mornings, its better to meet people in the markets. In the evening, after people come back from work, is a good time to go house-to-house," said the newcomer (photo).

In the poster war, DAP’s early lead over BN was cut back overnight as the ‘blue wave’ caught up with the ‘rocket blitzkrieg'.

The opposition party has put up flags on bamboo poles two storeys high, billboards, mini-rockets made out of posters and even an ‘oildrum rocket’.

Last minute changes to MCA's Kinta Valley line-up meant that many candidates were not able to place orders for posters until the last minute.

MCA is facing three DAP incumbents in the parliamentary seats of Batu Gajah, Ipoh Timor and Ipoh Barat - and the Kinta Valley has been dubbed the 'Valley of death' in some quarters.

The DAP and MCA will square off in eight of the nine state seats within these three constituencies.