Ahmedabad: In the first post-Godhra elections, Gujarat on December 12 went to polls to elect a new Assembly amidst unprecedented security with modest voting reported during the first two hours of the battle mainly between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

"Voting has so far been proceeding smoothly and there have been no reports of any untoward incident," sources in the election office here said.

While reports spoke of a modest turn out in urban areas, in rural areas voting was yet to gain momentum.

Brisk voting was reported at some polling stations in Godhra, where BJP has fielded Bajrang Dal leader Haresh Bhat against Congress' R Patel. Polling at some booths was stopped for a while due to a snag in the Electronic Voting

Machines (EVMs), being used in all the 181 constituencies.

Among the early voters was caretaker Chief minister, Narendra Modi, who cast his vote in the Sarkhej constituency in suburban Ahmedabad.

Modi, who himself is contesting from the high-profile Maninagar constituency, flashed a victory sign after casting his vote and said the people of the state would give a "befitting reply" to those, who for the last nine months, have launched a "malicious" campaign to defame Gujarat.

Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and his wife Kamla cast their votes in Shahpur constituency in Ahmedabad city from where Gujarat Minister Kaushik Patel is the candidate.

Nearly 40,000 paramilitary personnel along with 70,000 policemen have been deployed across the border state to ensure peaceful polling, which is also being witnessed by 17 diplomats from the US, Britain, European Union, The Netherlands, Italy and Sweden.

The state's borders have been sealed and Coast Guard is maintaining a strict vigil along the western coastline of the state.

About 37,000 polling booths have been set up across the state to enable an estimated 3.28 crore voters to exercise their franchise.

Election to the Surat City (West) Assembly seat has been countermanded following the death of BJP candidate and Gujarat Law Minister Hemant Chapatwala.

Over 1,000 candidates whose fate will be decided today include Chief Minister Narendra Modi, senior Congress leader Amarsinh Chaudhary, BJP veteran Suresh Mehta as well as two former MPs Soma Ganda and Shivlal Vakeria.

As many as 14,707 polling booths in 22 out 25 districts have been declared "sensitive" by the Election Commission. Counting of votes will be taken up on December 15.

PTI