New Delhi: With record high temperatures in Britain for the past several days, the battle for the leadership of the Conservative party and race to the Downing Street has escalated as well.

Former finance minister Rishi Sunak is leading the fourth round of voting with 118 votes, followed by 92 votes earned by Britain’s former defence minister Penny Mordaunt, and 86 of that garnered by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

Kemi Badenoch could only earn a total of 59 votes in the Tory contest, resulting in her elimination from the fixture.

In the quest to replace former PM Boris Johnson, Sunak has maintained his lead, as visible from the results of the recently concluded votes by fellow Tory MPs.

While the other strong contender Liz Truss garnered relatively more votes than Monday, gaining support from 15 more conservative MPs.

Lawmakers will cast their votes again on Wednesday, resulting in the elimination of both the last place holders. After the last, i.e. the fifth round of voting by Tori conservatives, the party headquarter will take over the race in its hand.

The content will then include hustings organized by the Conservative Party across UK, with the remaining two finalists to face off a vote cast of 180,000 total members of the party, followed by the announcement for the new PM by September 5.

The newly elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will hold his or her first Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons on September 7.