Voting for Assembly elections is progressing in the three states of Maharshtra, Haryana and Arunchal Pradesh amidst tight security.<br/>In Maharshtra, polling is on in 84,136 booths to elect the 288-member Legislative Assembly. According to official sources, polling which began on a dull note is peaceful. Reports from various centres in the state sas, polling so far is dull to moderate. A report from Kolhapur said about five to ten per cent of voters had exercised their franchise in the first two hours in the ten Assembly seats in the district. In some centres in urban areas, the turnout was moderate.<br/>Over 1.29 lakh state police and Central paramilitary forces (CPMF) have been deployed across the state to ensure fair and peaceful poll.<br/>Adequate CPMF contingents have been deployed in Naxal-hit Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts of Vidarbha to thwart any attempt by the Maoists to disrupt the election process. The fate of 3,559 candidates, including Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, his deputy Chhagan Bhujbal and 37 ministers will be decided by an electorate of 7.56 crore.There are 1,820 Independents, mostly rebels in fray. The number of women candidates is 211.<br/><br/>Union Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, and industrialist Anil Ambani, were among the early voters in the Maharashtra Assembly polls today. Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule, accompanied by supporters, cast their vote in a polling station in hometown Baramati in Pune district. Talking to reporters after exercising his franchise Mr.Pawar said the focus of Congress-NCP combine will be on overall development of the state and providing a stable government.<br/><br/>Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, cast his vote with family members at native village Babhalgaon in Latur district.<br/>Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, daughter Praniti Shinde, a candidate from Solapur, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, and BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan were among others who cast their vote.<br/><br/>Meanawhile reports say that naxalites opened fire near Kasansur in Aheri block of Gadchiroli district shortly before polling commenced today. Police said,however, security forces did not return the fire as part of a strategy since naxalites are not visible.<br/>Over 1.29 lakh state police and central paramilitary forces (CPMF) have been deployed across the state to ensure fair and peaceful poll.<br/>CPMF contingents have been deployed in naxal-hit Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts of Vidarbha to thwart any attempt by the Maoists to disrupt the election process. On October eight, 17 policemen were killed in an ambush by the naxals in Gadchiroli district.<br/><br/>An estimated eight per cent of the 1.31 crore voters cast their votes during the first two hours of polling for the 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana where a total 1,222 candidates are trying their luck.<br/>Though the polling is by and large peaceful so far, a report from Meham constituency of Rohtak district said polling was obstructed in a booth following a clash between supporters of two candidates.<br/>There were reports of malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at one booth each in Loharu, Panipat, Tosham and Sonepat. Among the early voters were former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, his son and Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) chief Kuldeep Bishnoi and his wife Jasma Devi, Finance Minister Birender Singh, Power Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, Tourism Minister Kiran Choudhary, Revenue Minister Savitri Jindal, Speaker of the dissolved Assembly Raghbir Kadian, INLD Secretary General Ajay Singh Chautala and former Finance Minister Sampat Singh.<br/><br/>Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda cast his vote in his native Sanghi village in Rohtak .Talking to reportrs he expressed the confidence that the ruling Congress would sweep the Assembly elections and form the government in the state again.<br/><br/>Voting for the 60-member Assembly in Arunachal Pradesh is on amid a massive security blanket. Since morning, long queues were seen in almost all the polling stations of the state.<br/>Altogether 154 contestants are trying their electoral luck in 57 constituencies. The Congress has already opened its account with three uncontested candidates, including Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu in Mukto, Tsewang Dhondup in Tawang and newcomer Jambey Tashi in Lumla.<br/>2,063 polling stations have been set up across the state for a total 7.49 lakh voters. Of the total booths, 512 polling booths had been identified as sensitive and 511 hypersensitive. Moreover, eight booths have only a few voters ranging from three to nine.<br/>Besides the available police forces and other armed forces in the<br/>state, an additional 32 companies of the central paramilitary forces<br/>had been deployed in the sensitive areas of the state.<br/><br/>Besides the 33 central poll observers deployed by the Election Commission, a good number of micro-observers had been positioned across the state to monitor the poll process. All the entry and exit points along the inter-state border have been sealed to check the fake voters' entry .<br/>The Election Commission said the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in Arunachal Pradesh and in some constituencies of Maharashtra is 3 PM. <br/><br/>In Haryana, polling will end at 5 PM.