Suspected Maoist fighters in India have detonated two bombs and opened fire in more than a dozen areas, disrupting voting in state elections in central Chhattisgarh state, police and officials said.
"The election was affected in at least 17 polling booths due to firing and bomb blasts," R S Vishwakarma, a senior government official told Reuters on Friday.
The Chhattisgarh elections, which are being held in two stages with the last round to be held next Friday, kicked off a month-long period of state elections, reported Aljazeera.
The other states that are due to go to the polls in the next few weeks are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
Four police officers were injured in two separate landmine blasts in Chattisgarh.
Voting came to a total halt in some rural areas as armed fighters also blocked roads and snatched electronic voting machines the Bastar district of the state.
Maoist fighters are known to be very active in the tribal-dominated Bastar district.
Like Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir will hold staged elections in an attempt to contain attacks and ensure security.
Both Muslim separatist leaders in Indian-administered Kashmir and Maoists in Chhattisgarh have called for voters to boycott the elections.
Maoist fighters say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers, and regularly target government property and police officers.
Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, has described the Maoist insurgency as the gravest threat to India's internal security.