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Scottish election 2016: Two parties, two ladies, locked in a vicious battle for second place

The tension is tangible.

Two party leaders locked in a vicious battle for second place.

Of course, neither Kezia Dugdale or Ruth Davidson thought they would be in this position.

Neither assumed the Lothian count – the region where both are running – would be the crucible for the most interesting contest of the election.

Circling each other like jackals it is clear there is more at stake than personal pride.

Ms Dugdale’s Labour is facing the unprecedented collapse of coming third behind the Tories.

If that scenario occurs, it would be the first time her party has not come first or second in Scotland since 1910.

It is hard to believe that, when she became leader less than a year ago, Ms Dugdale thought she would find herself in this potentially ignominious position.

No, there is much more at stake for Ms Dugdale here than whether she wins Edinburgh Eastern. It is little surprise that her confident smile is buttressed by an anxious look.

Ms Davidson, meanwhile, is hoping her party can leap frog Ms Dugdale into second place. Her entire campaign will be determined as a victory or a defeat on whether she achieves this and this alone.

A moderniser, Ms Davidson is under-pressure to show that the dumping of the traditional Tory image is a vote-winner.

Yet many argue her strategy has been borne-out more by the collapse of Labour than any surge in support for her party.

She too is all smiles on the surface, while also clearly keenly aware of what is at stake.

While both women are all but guaranteed to return to Holyrood today – they’re both number one on their respective lists – only one of them will really win.

As the ballot boxes arrived, hundreds of high-res vest clad volunteers, crammed into Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre, started taking the electoral fate of both leaders in their hands.

One thing however, is clear – it is a nervous night for all involved.