New Delhi, March 10 (TIWN) The ruling BJP was leading in 248 seats and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) was ahead in 112 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission trends on Thursday showed.

As per the latest vote counting trends, BJP was leading in UP with 246 seats. It was followed by SP (120 seats) and BSP (7 seats). A party or coalition needs to win 202 out of 403 seats to form government in the state. BJP was also leading in Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, though AAP was leading in Punjab.  At 10:34 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 56,000, up 1,353 points or 2.48 per cent. Nifty50 was quoting at 16,733, up 387 points or 2.37 per cent.  "The outcome of the Uttar Pradesh election will be widely watched by markets because it will set the tone for how the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party approaches and prepares for the general elections in 2024," said Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities.