The Liberals are yet to announce candidates in either of Bendigo’s state seats, however the party last month said it was targeting a candidate with a known legal background for Bendigo East to challenge Labor MP Jacinta Allan ahead of a campaign expected to be dominated by law and order.

“They’ve been desperately trying to find someone for nine months, they are now scraping the bottom of the barrel and still haven’t got a candidate,” Ms Edwards said on Monday. 

Related: Bendigo swings to Labor

“They have no plan and no credibility, so it’s natural they have no candidate. They just don't care about Bendigo.” 

Ms Edwards said for the Liberals to claim they had a candidate ready in June and have since failed to unveil the person, was “disrespectful” to the people of Bendigo.

“They’ve dragged their heels. If you are going to say things you need to back it up,” she said.

Despite holding the seat of Bendigo West by a margin of 12 per cent, Ms Edwards said she wasn’t taking anything for granted.

“I’ve worked very, very hard every day to deliver for the people of Bendigo West,” she said. 

Chairman of the Liberal Party’s Bendigo West state electoral conference, Jack Lyons, said Ms Edwards should “keep her nose out” of Liberal affairs.

“She's the state member for this area and she's entitled to put things out there but as for Liberal Party matters she should keep her nose out of that,” he said. 

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Liberal pre-selection has opened for Bendigo West, but Mr Lyons – a former Liberal Party candidate – could not confirm how many people had nominated or whether he intended to.

If one candidate nominated, a decision would be made within two weeks, Mr Lyons said, however if multiple nominees emerged, it would more likely be around early April. 

The candidate, like in Bendigo East, would have a law and order focus, and would promote the development of Marong Business Park, Mr Lyons said.

“So little (money) is spent in rural and regional Victoria in comparison to metropolitan Melbourne,” he said.

Mr Lyons believed winning the seat was achievable, despite Labor consolidating its winning margin from the 2010 election by almost 10 per cent in 2014.  

“The chances are very high, people are sick of the Andrews government and its wayward spending,” he said.

“To unseat the Labor government you've got to start at the grass route level. If you want to get rid of Daniel Andrews, you start at your home – you start with Maree Edwards.” 

The Victorian Greens were contacted for comment.