WAYANAD: The initial trend emerging from the counting of ballots in the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala on Saturday saw Congress-led UDF candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the lead, according to TV channel reports with no word yet from the Election Commission.

The counting of votes polled commenced at 8 am with postal ballots being taken up first.

The strong rooms, where the EVMs were kept, were opened more than an hour before counting began.

The bypoll for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat was held on November 13.

Of the 16 candidates who contested, the main contenders are Priyanka, who is making her electoral debut, CPI(M)-led LDF's Sathyan Mokeri, a political veteran, and BJP-headed NDA's Navya Haridas.