Srinagar, India  - Thousands of police and paramilitary troops patrolled towns of India's restive Jammu and Kashmir state where elections were being held Sunday.

Balloting was being held in six constituencies - two in the Kashmir valley and four in the Jammu region - in the second phase of the staggered elections which are scheduled to end on December 24.

Voting went off largely peacefully with a turnout of 35 per cent reported in the Kashmir valley constituencies until 2 pm, and an estimated 41 to 48 per cent in Rajouri district of Jammu region, election officials said.

Elections to the state legislative assembly are being held after months of protests over a temple land row that snowballed into an anti-India agitation led by separatist parties who have given a call to boycott elections.

At least 40 people were killed in the violence, most of them Muslims. Jammu and Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state.

Rajouri district, which borders the line of control dividing the Kashmir region into two parts, one administered by India and the other by Pakistan, saw a heavy security blanket.

Election Commission officials said they were expected the turnout to increase by the end of the day as the early morning chill in the Himalayan region had kept voters indoors.

The first phase of elections held in 10 constituencies saw an unprecedented turnout of about 64 per cent.

Stray incidents of clashes between workers of rival parties and anti-election protests were reported from some areas, but there were no militancy-related events, the police said.

The police carried out a baton charge in Baramullah town, about 55 kilometres north-west of state capital Srinagar, to disperse a group protesting against the holding of elections.

Two young men were killed Saturday when police and paramilitary forces fired at a similar demonstration in the town, where balloting is scheduled to be held in a later phase.

Baramullah as well as Srinagar, which was the heart of the protests earlier in 2008, saw curfew-like situations with intense patrolling by security forces.

Elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been disrupted by militants in the past and India's Election Commission decided to stagger the elections across seven phases to ensure that voters and candidates are provided maximum security.

More than 47,000 people have died in a violent secessionist movement in the state since the mid-1980s, according to official data. The separatist Hurriyat Conference claims the figure is near double of the government's estimate. (dpa)