Kashmiri villagers stand in a queue as they wait their turn to cast their votes in Rakh Shilwat area of Sonawari, north of Srinagar, on Tuesday. The first phase of the five-phase polling for the local legislative assembly started on Tuesday.

IANS/ Jammu/Srinagar/New Delhi

Voters in Jammu and Kashmir defied a boycott call by separatist groups and braved inclement weather to cast their ballot in large numbers in the first of the five-phase state polls.

State Chief Electoral Officer Umang Narula told the media in Jammu that more than 70% of the over one million voters cast their ballot.

Polling was peaceful without any incident.

Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi told the media in Delhi that the constituencies had seen 64.97% turnout in the 2008 elections and 52.63% in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

"It is a good increase. The voting percentage seems to be on the higher side," Zutshi said, adding that there could be an increase of about 2% after all votes cast were taken into account.

A total of 123 candidates were in the fray on Tuesday. Polling started at 8 am and ended at 4 pm.

The morning cold affected the early voter turnout, but young and enthusiastic voters queued up, dressed in traditional Kashmiri attire.

A separatist boycott call in the Valley evoked no response, as men and women came out in large numbers to vote.

A 121-year-old woman also cast her ballot. Zutshi said Noor Bi voted in Ramban district, becoming the oldest person to vote in the first phase.

Voting continued in 13 polling stations even after 4 pm as voters had entered the demarcated area before the scheduled end.

The chief electoral officer said 31 sorties were made by Mi-7 helicopters and 12 by smaller choppers to ferry polling staff and voting machines to and from inaccessible areas.

"The highest polling was recorded in Sonawari with 80.1%, while the lowest was recorded in Ganderbal with 53%," Narula said.

Polling was low key initially because of the cold weather, especially in the Ladakh region where temperatures were below freezing point.

As the day progressed, balloting picked up, as voters lined up at polling booths.

People said they were voting for change and development.

"We have decided to participate in the elections to vote for change," said 24-year-old Nisar, who was voting for the first time.