In what can be termed as a neck-and-neck fight, NCP-AP's Dilip Walse Patil escaped defeat with a mere margin of 1,500 votes as NCP-SP's Devdatta Nikam gave him a tough fight.
Walse Patil, a former home minister, first became an MLA in 1990 from Ambegaon on a Congress ticket and has since then become a six-time MLA from the constituency.
In a closely contested battle, Dilip Dattatray Walse Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won the seat with a narrow margin of 1,523 votes, securing 106,888 votes. His opponent, Devdatta Jayvantrao Nikam from the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharad Pawar faction, received 105,365 votes, falling short by just over a thousand votes in this tight race.
Meanwhile, Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat loses from Sangamner by 10,560 votes. He was an MLA since 1985.
