Bengaluru, Oct. 27 -- Counting of votes for four Karnataka Legislative Council seats began on Tuesday amid heightened security, with the results expected to indicate the ruling Congress's support base among graduates and teachers and test the electoral coordination between the Opposition BJP and JD(S) alliance partners.

A total of 43 candidates are in the fray across the four constituencies -- South-East Graduates', West Graduates', North-East Teachers' and Bengaluru Teachers'. Initial trends are expected to emerge as the counting progresses.

The elections are being closely watched as a political test for the Congress government, with both the ruling party and the BJP-JD(S) alliance seeking to demonstrate their organisational strength a...