A voter turnout of 34.10 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in Punjab, where the polling is underway for all 117 Assembly seats amid tight security arrangements.

The voting had started at 8 am and will continue till 6 pm.

Tight security arrangements have been made for the peaceful conduct of the polls. A total of 700 companies of the central armed police force besides the state police personnel have been deployed.

A total of 1,304 candidates, including 93 women and two transgenders, are in the fray for the high-stake electoral contest.

According to the Punjab chief electoral office, an average voter turnout of 34.10 per cent has been recorded till 1 pm.

Amritsar-based famous conjoined twins Sohan Singh and Mohan Singh, fondly known as Sohna-Mohna, cast their separate votes in Amritsar.

Sohna-Mohna had recently been handed over two separate electoral photo identity cards by Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju.

Both had turned 18 last year and voted for the first time.

The conjoined twins said they are extremely happy as both were able to exercise their voting rights.

Officials said the conjoined twins were treated as two separate voters and special arrangements were made for them so that both could maintain secrecy of their votes.

Dressed in her bridal wear, a young woman first went to cast her vote at a village in Zirakpur on the outskirts of Chandigarh, before performing marriage rituals while a bridegroom in Rupnagar cast his vote first before getting married.

At the women-managed pink polling booths in the state, enthusiasm was seen among the voters, especially those voting for the first time.

There are 196 pink polling stations for women while 70 polling stations are being managed by persons with disabilities (PwD).

Amritsar recorded a voting percentage of 30.23 per cent till 1 pm, Barnala 37.26 per cent, Bathinda 38.75 per cent, Fatehgarh Sahib 37.13 per cent, Fazilka 40.59 per cent, Ferozepur 37.97 per cent, Malerkotla 39.78 per cent and Muktsar 39.61 per cent.

Those who voted so far included former chief minister and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal (94), the oldest candidate in the fray, ministers Manpreet Singh Badal, Pargat Singh and Vijay Inder Singla, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa and Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma.

AAP's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann exercised his franchise in Mohali.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal also cast their votes.

Sukhbir Badal himself drove a vehicle and brought the family to cast their votes in Muktsar.

AAP leader Raghav Chadha in his tweets alleged that at a polling booth in Guruharsahai, a sarpanch tried to influence voters. He claimed that some EVMs had malfunctioned at Sanaour, Attari and Majitha.

People are being given masks, gloves and hands sanitised at the polling booths before casting their votes.

Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal appealed to voters to exercise their right to franchise.

In the morning, Charanjit Singh Channi paid obeisance at religious places at his home constituency Chamkaur Sahib.

After casting his vote, Parkash Singh Badal said, "I am happy that our democracy is very strong. I will continue to serve my people till my last breath.

The Badal family exuded confidence of winning the elections.

Former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said she will urge every single voter to vote.

Harsimrat said, There is going to be a clean sweep in favour of a tried and tested regional party that understands the aspiration of the people.

In Patiala, former chief minister Amarinder Singh also exuded confidence of his victory.

Asked how big the challenge in these elections was, Amarinder said, Not much. We will win.

Amarinder Singh's wife Preneet Kaur and daughter Jai Inder Kaur exuded confidence that the former CM will win.

I always supported Captain sahib (Amarinder). It is my family and my family is above everything, said Preneet Kaur, who is the Congress MP.

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu in Amritsar expressed hope that people will come out in large numbers for casting their votes.

A total of 2,14,99,804 people, including 1,02,00,996 women, are eligible to vote.

There are 24,740 polling stations, of which 2,013 have been identified as critical while 2,952 are vulnerable, said Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju.

Punjab is witnessing a multi-cornered contest among the Congress, AAP, SAD-BSP, BJP-PLC-SAD (Sanyukt) and the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM), a political front of various farmer bodies.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is contesting the polls in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The BJP is fighting the elections in alliance with Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD (Sanyukt).

The SSM is contesting the polls with Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni-led Sanyukt Sangharsh Party.

Prominent faces in the fray include Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, former CMs Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal, and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma and former Union minister Vijay Sampla are also in the contest.