The leading candidates in at least nine Lok Sabha constituencies have a margin of less than 1,500 against their competitors, while in 5 seats, the leading candidates have a margin of less than 1,000 votes as counting is underway for what is turning out to be a neck and neck contest between the ruling NDA and INDIA bloc, the Election Commission website has shown.
The lowest margin was in the Mumbai North West seat in Maharashtra where Shiv Sena candidate Ravindra Dattaram Waikar won with a margin of 48 votes against Shiv Sena (UBT) Amol Gajanan Kirtikar.
Similarly, in seats including Aonla, Muzaffarnagar, Hatkanangale and Kanthi, the margin of votes is less than 1,000 votes. While the BJP candidates are leading in Aonla, Muzaffarnagar and Kanthi, the Shiv Sena candidate is leading in Hatkanangale.
Salempur, Attingal, Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North West had a margin of less than 2,000 votes between the winners and the next competitor.
While the BJP candidate is leading in Salempur, Congress candidates are in the lead in Attingal and Mumbai North Central.
The low margin also reflects the tough contest between the ruling and the opposition camps as both sides are eyeing the crucial seats amid a tight contest.
As per the latest trends, the NDA alliance is ahead on 295 seats, while the INDIA alliance is in lead on 230 seats. The INDIA bloc is ahead on 225 seats, the Congress on 98. The BJP is leading in 239 seats.
Meanwhile, several candidates in Bengal won their seats with a huge margin. Trinamool Congress general secretary and Diamond Harbour candidate Abhishek Banerjee topped the list of nominees winning the election with a massive margin of over 7 lakh votes.
Banerjee bagged 10,43,493 votes and defeated his nearest rival BJP's Abhijit Das by 7,10,930. TMC's Joynagar candidate Pratima Mondal, who bagged 8,94,312 votes, defeated BJP's Ashok Kandary by a massive margin of 4,70,219 votes, the poll body said