AFP/New Delhi

Indian Kashmir headed to the polls on Tuesday under tight security, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist party eyeing power for the first time in the tense and disputed state.

Voters lined up in 15 heavily guarded constituencies in the first stage of staggered elections in the Himalayan region, claimed by both India and Pakistan and the scene of two wars between the rival neighbours.

More than one million residents were eligible to vote in seats across the region, including near the de-facto border that divides Kashmir and in remote Ladakh, home to mostly Buddhists, where temperatures have dropped below freezing.

"Vote in large numbers & vote with your hearts," tweeted the region's chief minister Omar Abdullah, whose National Conference party faces a tough fight to stay in power.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is staging a bold attempt to seize control of the Jammu and Kashmir state's 87-member assembly, a move that would have been unthinkable until very recently.

The party has traditionally had no base in the Kashmir Valley, where residents' resentment against Indian rule runs high.

About a dozen rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for Kashmir's independence or for its merger with Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the violence.

But Modi's landslide win at national elections in May and a meltdown in support for incumbent Abdullah after deadly floods in September have given the BJP hope of a breakthrough.

Outside a polling station in Ganderbal, a seat Abdullah's family has long dominated, some voters at least were ready to give the BJP a chance.

"Whoever is willing to do the work is the best party. There's nothing wrong with the BJP. Whoever works for the poor is the best party," said taxi driver Aris Ahmed.

Minor scuffles between opposing voters were seen on TV outside another station in Ganderbal, 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the main city of Srinagar. But officials said polling so far has been relatively peaceful.

- Media blitzkrieg -

Separatist hardliners have called for a boycott of the vote, a move that could play to the BJP's advantage. Hindus are a minority in Kashmir, but their votes take on extra importance if many Muslims stay home in protest on polling day.

The BJP has staged a major media campaign, with newspapers in English and Urdu running large advertisements on Tuesday calling on voters to "Come let's go with Modi".

But analysts said the BJP may have overplayed its hand, predicting the blitz would prompt anti-BJP voters to turn out rather than boycott.

"The BJP has always been very proactive in Kashmir, but the media blitzkrieg and the euphoria (this time around) could boomerang to the advantage of the regional parties," Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a political analyst at the Central University of Kashmir, told AFP.

Two hours after polls opened at 10:00 am, voter turnout had crossed 15%, according to the Election Commission.

Thousands of soldiers have been deployed in and around polling stations amid fears of street protests or militant attacks.

Most separatists have either been arrested or confined to their houses in the lead-up to the election, while police have also detained dozens of youths, authorities have told AFP.

Jammu and Kashmir will vote in five phases, with results due on December 23.

Elections were also being held on Tuesday in the insurgency-wracked and impoverished central state of Jharkhand, where the BJP is also attempting to seize power.

Army and police have been deployed in force at polling stations for the first phase of the election there amid fears of attacks from Maoists.

The rebels have long been fighting authorities for land, jobs and other rights for poor tribal groups in a conflict that has cost thousands of lives.