In the south of the volatile Himalayan state, meanwhile, police said Thursday they were battling rebels in a dense forest in fierce firefights which had already claimed the lives of five Indian soldiers, two rebels and two civilians.

The rally by Sonia Gandhi, chief of the Congress party, would be held under ultra-tight security at a stadium here, officials said.

"We are on our toes to provide security to all the concerned candidates and the party leaders," said a paramilitary officer in charge of the security outside the stadium.

Gandhi last week cancelled plans to travel to Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's summer capital, amid fears for her safety.

Her visit Thursday comes a day after militants gunned down two members of the state's ruling National Conference who had been actively campaigning for the elections, which are being held in various districts on four different dates, starting last Monday and ending October 8.

On Tuesday, militants attacked the Congress headquarters here, injuring three people, including a party activist.

The next and perhaps most crucial phase of the vote, which rebels have vowed to disrupt through violence, will be held in Srinagar, in the southern winter capital Jammu and in the district of Budgam, just south of Srinagar, next Tuesday.

As the political attention has shifted to the capitals, and following a relatively smooth first round of voting which Indian officials are claiming has exposed lack of support for separatists and rebels, the militants have upped their attacks in Srinagar, police said.

The summer capital, an urban hub of Muslim militants and headquarters of Kashmir's main separatist alliance the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), has seen a low turnout during past polls since the eruption of armed militancy in 1989.

Muslim militants have threatened to kill those participating in the elections, while Hurriyat has called for a boycott of the four-phase polls.

"The militants will try their best to disrupt the polls, but we are ready to meet the challenge as we did in the first phase," said Kashmir police chief Ashok Kumar Suri.

The United States said on Wednesday that the violence-plagued election in Kashmir had got off to a "positive start".

"We do have reporting from our US embassy in New Delhi that indicates a positive start to the process," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher in Washington.

"There was violence that was disturbing, but it was relatively at a low level."

Election officals put the turnout at above 47 percent, considered reasonable given a violent pre-poll period that saw at least 25 pro-election actvists -- two of them candidates -- killed by militants.

"After a good voter turnout in the first phase, the eyes are now set on Srinagar, where boycott has always won in the past," said political analyst Showket Ahmed.

The forest battle, involving about 1,000 Indian soldiers against an estimated 35 rebels, was taking place in the Katarmal hills in Rajouri district, 170 kilometres (105 miles) west Jammu, police said.

The rebels were using assault rifles and sophisticated semi-automatic Pika weapons to target Indian troops, a spokesman said.

The operation continued Thursday morning, with police saying it could take up to two days to flush out the militants from the forest.

India claims Pakistan is sponsoring the militants in their rebellion against Indian rule in Kashmir and in their bid to disrupt the polls, a claim Islamabad denies.

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