Counting of votes is underway for four states and one union territory.

New Delhi: As counting began for the high-stakes elections in 823 constituencies across four states and one Union Territory, early postal ballot trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance Leading in West Bengal while wildcard entrant Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) was leading in Tamil Nadu.Meanwhile, trends show the BJP leading on 25 seats in Assam, while the Indian National Congress-led alliance is leading on seven seats.There is a tough fight between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala and both are leading by more than 50-50.In Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was ahead of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance, while the contest remained tough in West Bengal. Bharatiya Janata Party and this All India Trinamool Congress.These figures are based on preliminary mail ballot trends.As soon as the counting started, information about patrolling by armored vehicles was received in Malda, West Bengal. Strong rooms were opened in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry before the counting process.A verbal clash broke out between polling agents at a counting center in West Bengal, with TMC alleging that its agents were not allowed to take files and pens inside, while BJP agents were allowed to do so. A TMC polling agent said the rules should be applied uniformly.However, the BJP accused the TMC agents of not carrying identity cards required for entry and alleged that they were creating unnecessary disruption.In Tamil Nadu, heavy three-tier security was deployed since Monday morning for the counting process. Security personnel were deployed at the entry points, barricades were installed at various places and vehicles were being checked.Loyola College was one of the major counting centers where EVMs were placed for the votes cast by around 4.8 crore voters. Queen Mary College and Anna University were also designated as counting centres.