Bhubaneswar, Nov 10 : The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is leading as counting of votes for bypolls to Balasore and Tirtol Assembly constituencies of Odisha began on Tuesday. The by-elections were held on November 3. The counting started amid tight security arrangements and strict adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines, said election officials on Tuesday. As per the early rounds, the BJD candidates were leading in both the seats while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trailing. The result will decide the electoral fortune of 15 candidates -- six in Balasore and nine in Tirtol. Elaborate arrangements have been made for the counting of votes amid strict adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines. A three-layer security arrangement has been made in the assembly constituencies, the official said. For the Balasore Sadar constituency, counting is taking place at the Balasore Collectorate and for the Tirtol Assembly constituency, the counting is being held at the S.V.M College premises, Jagatsinghpur. The BJD has fielded Bijay Shankar Das, the son of late MLA Bishnu Charan Das, in the Tirtol seat, while Rajkishore Behera is the BJP nominee and the Congress has nominated Himansu Bhushan Mallick. The BJP has fielded Manas Kumar Dutta, the son of late MLA Madan Mohan Dutta, in the Balasore seat, while Swarup Das is the BJD candidate, and the Congress nominee is Mamata Kundu. The by-elections in the two constituencies were necessitated by the demise of BJP MLA Madan Mohan Dutta in Balasore and BJD legislator Bishnu Charan Das in Tirtol. /IANS