Bhaderwah, Apr 24 (UNI) About 25 per cent voters exercised their right to franchise till noon in Bhaderwah Assembly constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, which went for a peaceful by-election amid tight security today.

The contest for the seat is between State Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad of the congress and the BJP candidate Dhanatar Singh, the only other candidate in the fray.

Mr Azad is likely to cast is vote in the afternoon at Kalotran Higher Secondary School polling station of Setu village.

Former Power Minister Mohammed Shrief Niaz, who had vacated the Bhaderwah seat for the Chief Minister, also exercised his right at the same polling booth.

Returning Officer Rohit Khajuria told UNI that polling was peaceful so far and no untoward incident had been reported from any part of the constituency.

Long queues of voters were seen outside the polling stations, waiting for their turn.

Polling, which began at 0800 hrs, would continue till 1700 hrs.

Elaborate security arrangement were made for the incident-free election.

Of 122 polling stations in the constituency, 44 were categorised sensitive, 48 hyper-sensitive and 20 as normal.

A total 90,476 voters, including 44,310 females, would decide the political fate of both the candidates.

UNI RKS VJ VC1538