Puducherry | Counting of votes commenced at 8 AM on Monday in all six designated counting centres in Puducherry, officials said.

The vote-counting exercise commenced at 8 AM with the postal ballots, and at 8.30 AM, counting of votes recorded in EVMs will be taken up, they said.

Elections to 30 Assembly segments were held in the state on April 9.

The incumbent AINRC regime has put up a big fight to retain power. Opposition INDIA bloc comprising parties, including Congress and DMK, despite friction among them, has shown determination to unseat CM N Rangasamy-led NR Congress government.

Preliminary trends in the Union Territory of Puducherry indicate an advantage for the NDA alliance led by AINRC in the counting of postal ballots on Monday.

As per the counting in the initial rounds, the AINRC is leading in ten constituencies while the Congress is ahead in five, in a close contest in the UT.

The counting of votes commenced at 8 am from all six designated counting centres amidst tight police security