Srinagar, Dec 14 (IANS): Nearly 25 percent of voters Sunday cast their votes till 12 p.m. in the fourth phase of the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly elections, an Election Commission official said.

"Till 12 p.m., 24.58 percent voting has taken place. The highest turnout was in Pahalgam constituency with 37.23 percent and the lowest in Habba Kadal at 7.58 percent," the official said.

Polling picked up in Srinagar and elsewhere in the Kashmir Valley as the day warmed up, with a weak winter sun struggling hard to break through the clouds.

After a dull start, voters lined up at many polling stations in Srinagar city as well as in Anantnag and Shopian districts in south Kashmir.

Some 14.66 lakh voters in 18 constituencies are eligible to decide the fate of political heavyweights like Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.

Long queues of voters were seen in Mehjoor Nagar, Bemina, Rawalpora, Baghat Barzalla, Zadibal, Khimmer and Chatterhama areas of Srinagar, where eight constituencies went to the polls Sunday.

Very few votes were, however, cast in the old city areas of Srinagar, the traditional stronghold of separatists.

Men and women voters massed at all the six constituencies of Pahalgam, Shangus, Doru, Kokernag, Bijbehara and Anantnag in Anantnag district.

The voter turnout was good in Wachi and Shopian constituencies of Shopian district too, officials said, although these two places are believed to harbour separatist sympathisers.

Chief Minister Abdullah is contesting from Sonwar in Srinagar while Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed is fighting the polls from Anantnag.

Senior ministers Ali Muhammad Sagar of the National Conference (Khanyar), G.A. Mir of the Congress (Doru) and Peerzada Sayeed also of the Congress (Kokernag) are also in the fray besides the speaker of the outgoing state assembly, Mubarak Gul (Idgah).

The voter turnout till 12 noon was: Hazratbal 16.60 percent, Zadibal 14.73 percent, Idgah 13.36 percent, Khanyar 16.80 percent, Amira Kadal 15.12 percent, Sonwar 23.51 percent, Batmaloo 13.58 percent, Anantnag 23.15 percent, Doru 35.80 percent, Kokernag 35 percent, Shangus 35.58 percent, Bijbehara 32.25 percent, Wachi 23.85 percent and Shopian 26.94 percent.

In the two constituencies of Samba district in Jammu region, Vijaypur recorded 33 percent of polling in the first two hours and Samba 31 percent.

Sunday's balloting closes at 4 p.m.