Tamil Nadu recorded about 25 per cent polling and Kerala an impressive 45 per cent till 1 PM in today's closely fought assembly polls which largely remained peaceful.

In Tamil Nadu, polling got off to a brisk start at 8 am reaching the 25 per cent mark by 1 PM as the voters turned out braving the scorching summer heat to exercise their franchise.

Voters came out in large numbers and seen queueing up in both urban and rural areas in Kerala where the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and UDF-headed by Congress are locked in a fierce battle.

In the union territory of Puducherry, about 40 per cent of the voters cast their votes by 1 PM to elect 30 members to the assembly.

Official sources in Thiruvananthapuram said voting was progressing peacefully in all the 140 segments without any untoward incident.

Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi and his arch-rival AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, whose fortunes are being decided today, crossed swords levelling allegations against each other after casting their votes.

Besides them, Rajnikant and Kamal Hassan were among the celebrities who cast their votes in the morning.

Jayalalithaa alleged the state government had refused to pay the daily allowance of security personnel on election duty and expressed apprehension that DMK men might create violence and cast bogus votes in the event of them going on strike.

Hitting back, Karunanidhi referred to the death of Vikravandi Panchayat chairman Arjunan in an alleged attack by some unidentified persons and said "one can make out from this who is unleashing violence," hinting at her party's alleged involvement.

Both Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi exuded confidence that their combine would get the mandate in the 234-member assembly.

In Kerala, where a total of 971 candidates, including 78 women, are in the fray seeking the mandate of over 2.31 crore voters, politically hyperactive Alappuzha and Kannur districts marked brisk polling of 44 per cent and 40 per cent respectively by mid-day.

Speaking to reporters in Alappuzha, 87-yearold Marxist war horse Achuthanandan said, "We will win majority both in Malampuzha (where he is contesting) and the state".

Besides Achuthanandan, other prominent candidates in the fray are UDF's chief ministerial front runner Oommen Chandy (Puthupally), KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala (Harippad), IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty (Vengara) and senior BJP leader O Rajagopal (Nemom).

Polling begins on brisk note in TN, Kerala, Puducherry

Highest turnout in Kozhikode district

Polling for the 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu began on a brisk note this morning with about 4.6 crore voters expected to decided the fate of 2,773 candidates.

Political heavyweights whose fortunes will be decided today include chief minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi, his arch rival and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi's son and deputy chief minister M K Stalin and DMDK actor-founder Vijayakanth.

People came out in good numbers early in the morning and queued up before booths as polling began under the watchful eyes of security personnel who have been deployed in good strength.

In the union territory of Puducherry also, the polling to elect 30 members to the assembly began with a brisk note and large queues were seen before the booths.

Around 15.8 per cent voting was recorded in the first three hours of polling in Kerala.

Long queues were seen in both urban and rural areas right from the start of the polling under good weather conditions across the state.

The polling is progressing peacefully with no incidents of violence reported from anywhere, police sources said.

The highest turnout was reported in Kozhikode district where 19.5 per cent of voters had turned up, followed by Ernakulam (18.2)and Alappuzha (17.7).

However, the voting percentage was less than 15 per cent in the first three hours in the southern districts of Thiruvananathapuram, Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Kollam.

Early voters include union ministers A K Antony and Vayalar Ravi, UDF's chief ministerial probable Oommen Chandy and CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.

Tight security arrangements had been made in all the polling booths of which nearly 3,703 had been identified as sensitive by the election commission.

Besides LDF and UDF, BJP has also put up candidates in almost all the segments and given a triangular dimension to the fight in a couple of seats.