The BJP is leading in 17 seats and the Congress in nine in Madhya Pradesh as votes are being counted for the Assembly by-elections in 58 seats across 11 states, according to the Election Commission website on Tuesday.

India's ruling party was also ahead in seven seats and the Congress in one in Gujarat, where by-elections were held in eight seats, and five in Uttar Pradesh, where polls were held in seven constituencies. The Samajwadi Party was ahead in one and an Independent candidate in another in the country's most populous state.

Counting for the polling held on November 3 began at 8 am and progressed strictly in accordance with the Election Commission's guidelines, officials said. The number of people who can be present in the counting halls was restricted and extensive measures taken to ensure social distancing, they said.

It's a high-stakes electoral battle, particularly in Madhya Pradesh where the BJP-led Shivraj Singh Chouhan government is locked in a fierce contest for survival with the Congress. Elections were held for 28 seats. The BJP which has 107 MLAs in the assembly, with an effective strength of 229, needs at least eight more MLAs for a simple majority.

Votes were also being counted for by-elections in Manipur (five seats), Haryana (one), Chhattisgarh (one), Jharkhand (two), Karnataka (two), Nagaland (two), Odisha (two) and Telangana (one).

According to trends on the Election Commission site, the BJP had won one seat in Manipur and was leading in two while the Congress was leading in one and an Independent in one.

In Jharkhand, the BJP was ahead in one and the Congress in the other.

The party was ahead in both the seats in Karnataka.

In Odisha, the state's ruling Biju Janata Dal was ahead in both the seats for which elections were held.

In Nagaland, Independents were leading in both seats.

In the lone seat in Chhattisgarh, the Congress was leading. The party was also ahead in Haryana while the BJP was ahead in Telangana.