A CONSTITUENCY with as many individual quirks as those who have represented it over the years, in theory at least Kelvin could be the curve-ball thwarting an SNP clean sweep in the former Labour citadel of Glasgow.

Patrick Harvie of the Greens is standing in the area, one of only three constituencies it is contesting, and some armchair psephologists have number-crunched a victory for the party's co-convenor.

Another assumption is a split in the pro-independence vote in a constituency which is home to all of the city's four Green councillors will open the door for Labour's Michael Shanks, a man with the dubious honour of being the party's only unsuccessful Glasgow candidate in the 2012 local elections.

Pauline McNeill, herself on the comeback trail, held the seat for 12 years and a certain George Galloway was Labour MP for Kelvin for 15 years.

On the ground however some Labour activists are preparing themselves for the potential to come third in what is arguably Scotland's most diverse and cosmopolitan parliamentary constituency.

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Sandra White, the SNP's perennial challenger in Kelvin until her eventual success last time around, remains a popular figure in the area, her brand of international leftism popular in area which is home to three universities and just up the road from the UK's nuclear arsenal.

A keen sense of community politics, Ms White has also capitalised well from the steady stream of campaigns in the area over the past decade against the Labour-run city council by a highly mobilised, and often successful, professional and articulate middle class.

Kelvin, where the party has historically had a strong presence, is also home to the SNP's biggest branch in Glasgow, churning out from the universities a constant stream of willing and able young activists.

Effectively Glasgow's 'west end', with all its bohemian connotations, Kelvin is also home to the country's second largest Asian population and is booked ended the working class neighbourhoods around the city centre at one end and the remains of Partick's shipbuilding communities at the other.

Throw in some celebrities not short of a political opinion, the 'new Shoreditch' hipster vibe of Finnieston and a more transient demographic in the new apartment blocks straddling the Clyde and its easy to see Kelvin as a real population melting pot.

During the Independence Referendum the constituency voted Yes by around 24,000 votes to 21,750 and last year the SNP's Patrick Grady won Glasgow North, which covers the majority of Kelvin, by almost 10,000 votes from Labour's Ann McKechin.

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Whether Patrick Harvie realistically believes he is in with a shout is up for debate but being afforded a place in all the televised leaders' debates in the last few years meant sooner or later the Greens would have to stand in a constituency. Few areas have the networks and support as Kelvin.

And that it has generated so much discussion (and, it should be said, hostility from some within the SNP) can only be a major boost for the Greens who do believe two Glasgow regional list MSPs is achievable.

One Labour source said: "Even in 2011 some of our younger activists under-estimated Sandra White and its happening again with some of the number-obsessed nerdier types who have formulas where the Greens win.

"The SNP don't own everything in Kelvin but such scenarios reflect also alack of understanding of Kelvin on the ground. For us, its 'hope for second, prepare for third' which is a shame for Michael, who is a clever, able and thoughtful candidate."

A senior SNP source added: "The folk running Sandra's campaign are election veterans. The feedback seems to be we're relaxed but not complacent. "Notably, apart from the odd Tory, voters are defining themselves as SNP or not SNP. But Sandra;'s reputation goes before her."

Emily Cutts has been the driving force in the Children's Wood, the highest profile grassroots campaign in the constituency in recent years.

She said: "It seems clear to me that over the years people from the Kelvin constituency have consistently and continually fought for issues related to human growth and development, and not financial growth alone. They have seen what a difference this can make.

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"I would think that a party promoting these values would be of interest to people going into the ballot box. "