New Delhi, May 4 -- As counting began for high-stakes elections across 823 constituencies in four states and one Union Territory, early trends from postal ballots showed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead in Assam with leads in 25 seats, while the Congress-led alliance was ahead in seven.

In Keralam, a close contest is unfolding between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), with both sides inching past 50 leads each.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK has taken an early lead over the AIADMK-led alliance, while in West Bengal, the pendulum has been consistently swinging in a close contest between BJP and TMC.

These figures reflect initial postal ballot trends, with counting of El...