15 per cent turnout in the first three hours of polling

Nearly 15 per cent turnout was recorded in the first three hours of polling for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in eight states and union territories, barring Jammu and Kashmir where it began on a dull note.

A petrol bomb was hurled at a polling booth on the outskirts of Srinagar two hours ahead of polling but no one was injured. Minor skirmishes were reported in Punjab and Haryana while polling elsewhere was by and large peaceful.

Among the early voters were President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Union Minister Kapil Sibal.

As many as 9.46 crore people are eligible to vote in 85 constituencies in the fourth phase, in which 1,315 candidates including 119 women are in the fray.

BJP President Rajnath Singh (Ghaziabad), Congress' Pranab Mukherjee (Jangipur), SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav (Mainpuri), RJD supremo Lalu Prasad (Pataliputra) and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah (Srinagar) are the big names contesting in this phase.

While polling for the Srinagar seat began on a dull note, 39-year-old Omar Abdullah said after casting his vote, "People are coming out to vote regardless of the boycott call given by the separatists and this itself is a healthy sign."

While Badal's daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur is the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate from Bathinda, Amarinder's son Raninder Singh is the Congress nominee from the seat.

Besides, Amarinder's wife Preneet Kaur is hoping for a hat-trick from her traditional seat of Patiala. She is pitted against SAD's Prem Singh Chandumajra.

Among the other seats, Sangrur is witnessing a multi-cornered contest among sitting MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (SAD), former Punjab Youth Congress president Vijay Inder Singla, former Union minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia (Lok Bhalai Party) and former MP Simranjit Singh Mann (SAD-Amritsar).

AICC member Jagmeet Singh Brar is trying his luck against Sher Singh Ghubaiya of SAD from Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat.

While a resurgent Congress is hoping to improve its tally in the polls, SAD-BJP combine is expecting to repeat the performance of 2004.

In 2004 Lok Sabha polls, Congress bagged two seats, while SAD-BJP combine won 11 out of the total 13 seats.