A mere 14 per cent of the eight lakh voters spread over Anantnag and Pulwama districts cast their vote in an election marred by reports of intimidation of voters by the security forces.

The turn-out was a sharp fall from the 28 percentage recorded last year.

A Valley-wide hartal-call by the All Party Hurriyat Conference and a series of mine and IED-blasts -- some of them right in polling station compounds -- contributed to a virtual poll-boycott in many places. The lowest voter turn-out was in Pampore assembly segment, where less than one percent voted.

An Election Commission observer was also targeted in Adoo, the police said. An IED blast damaged two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) escort vehicles in his convoy.

Nobody was hurt. In Litter in Pulwama district, militantsfired rockets at a polling booth, injuring nine Indian Reserve Police (IRP) men. The polling booth had to then be shifted. A ruling National Conference polling agent Ghulam Mohammed Malik was killed an IED blast at a Pampore school where a polling booth was located. A CPI(M) polling agent Iqbal Hussain Baba was injured. Three security personnel were injured in another IED blast 60 yards from a polling booth.

There were also blasts at Sagam in Kokernag and Ashajipora in Anantnag city. In Wapizan, some polling staff suffered minor injuries in an IED blast.

There was heavy deployment of security forces in the constituency, which was originally scheduled to go to the polls on September 18. The polling was postponed after the BJP candidate Ghulam Hyder Noorani was killed in a mine blast. There have been fire other militant attacks against candidates in the fray in Anantnag.

The main contest was between the state's Revenue Minister Ali Mohammed Naik (NC) and former union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeedwho is seeking re-election after floating the People Democratic Party. He had won here last year by a 50,000-vote margin on a Congress ticket.

Several cases of coercion by the security forces were reported, though not on the scale witnessed during the polling in Baramulla. At places, announcements by local Imams were made from mosques -- allegedly at the behest of security forces -- asking people to cast their votes. Rashtriya Rifles and BSF men arrived in several villages asking people to vote or face being beaten up later. The Army however maintained that it was only providing security to the people.