India, May 12 -- In Shirdi, one of the two Lok Sabha constituencies in Ahmednagar district which goes to polls on May 13, the contest on paper is between sitting MP Sadashiv Lokhande of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Bhausaheb Wakchaure of Shiv Sena (UBT). On ground, however, it is the fight between two heavyweight politicians - revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil from the BJP and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat.

The two senior politicians have been at war for long over the control of Ahmednagar, a politically significant district in Maharashtra's sugar belt which was recently renamed as Ahilya Nagar, after queen Ahilyadevi Holkar of Indore whose family was originally from Maharashtra. Both have been entrusted the resp...