Nearly 18 per cent of over 55 lakh voters in Himachal Pradesh turned out on Saturday in the first three hours to elect 68 members of the BJP-ruled Assembly in the single phase polling, officials said.
Women turned out in strength in rural areas despite cold climatic conditions in the morning, said poll officials.
Only 4 per cent voting was recorded in first hour of polling. There were minor hiccups as electronic voting machines developed snags at some places.
BJP leader and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, his wife and two daughters cast their votes at a polling booth in Seraj in Mandi district. From Seraj, the four-time lawmaker is in fray again.
After casting his vote, Thakur urged the voters to come out in big numbers and enthusiastically participate in the "festival of democracy".
Ninety-year-old Nazrim Mani and his 87-year-old wife cast their votes at a model polling booth in a school that was opened in 1890 in Kalpa village in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, election officials said.
Government Primary School in Kalpa, some 275 km from the state capital in the Kinnaur Assembly constituency, was the first school in the district.
He flashed his wrinkled inked finger after voting.
After casting the vote, Mani appealed to the voters in the state to participate in this festival of democracy with full enthusiasm.
Greeting the first-timers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the voters to participate in the election process.
About 30,000 security personnel, including 67 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and over 11,500 state police personnel have been deployed for peaceful conduct of polling.
In the 2017 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 44 seats, the Congress 21, the CPM one and Independents two. The voter turnout in the 2017 poll was 75.57 per cent.
The counting of votes for Saturday election will be held on December 8