KOCHI: The lead for the Thrikkakara by-election is in favour of the UDF. When the counting of votes reached three rounds, Uma Thomas has a lead of over 8012 votes. Only a quarter of the votes cast have been counted so far.

The increase in the lead has created happiness in the UDF camp. The UDF activists are expressing joy in the counting centres. Uma Thomas was leading in the postal votes. When Uma Thomas got three votes, the LDF and the BJP got two votes each. The counting of votes started at 8 am.

The counting of votes is taking place in 21 tables. It will take 12 rounds to count all the votes. 21 booths are counted in one round. In the first round, votes will be counted in booths from one to 15 and then in other booths. There will be 21 booths in the first 11 rounds and eight booths in the final round. There are a total of 239 booths.