The vote count for the Lok Sabha elections has been ongoing since 8 am today. Among many seats, the battle in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar constituency has been closely observed. The contest is extremely tight between NCP (SP)'s Nilesh Lanke and BJP's Dr Sujay Vikhe Patil, with a thin margin of a few thousand votes.
Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of veteran politician Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil was leading in the first few rounds of voting. On the other hand, Nilesh Lanke, who was allied with Ajit Pawar's NCP faction changed the alliance by joining the NCP Sharadchandra Pawar faction and has managed to inch closer to closing the vote gap. Ahmednagar, which has been a traditional household for the Vikhe Patils has experienced several political shifts given the factional politics in the state.
The candidates had been in the news when Dr Vikhe Patil questioned Lanke's English proficiency. Lanke had hit back at Vikhe Patil by calling himself 'Munnabhai MBBS' who has won people's hearts, taking a dig at Vikhe Patil's profession as a neurosurgeon.
As the vote count comes to a close, it will be worth seeing whether Vikhe Patil or Lanke Patil claim victory over the Ahmednagar seat.