New Delhi: Stray violence marred polling at two places, as an estimated 35 per cent voters on February 26 cast votes in the Assembly elections in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya, while a dull turnout of 15 per cent marked the voting for a new legislature in Himachal Pradesh.

Suspected militants fired in the air to scare voters in Nagaland's Chantongia town of Mokokchung district, from where Chief Minister S C Jamir hails, and destroyed electronic voting machines at a polling station in Impur constituency.

An estimated 40 per cent of the 42 lakh voters cast their votes in the state till noon amidst tight security in the backdrop of militants' threat. Jamir cast his vote at Mokokchung on February 26 morning.

In neighbouring Tripura, which elects a 60-member Assembly, people turned up in large numbers and about 42 per cent votes were cast in the first five hours.

As posse of police and para-military personnel stood guard, people queued up outside most of the polling stations with the state capital Agartala recording the highest 51.97 per cent turnout.

Polling in hilly and interior areas, which face the threat of election boycott by outlawed insurgent group National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), was comparatively low with about 30 per cent.

By contrast, the voter turnout in Himachal Pradesh was much lower at an estimated 15 per cent of the nearly four million electorate in the first four hours of polling, which began at 8.00 am (IST).

Una, Chintapurni, Gagret recorded over 20 per cent turnout followed by Chaupal and Kangra with 18 per cent and Rohru with 15 per cent.

PTI