Srinagar, India ? Voters in Indian-controlled Kashmir’s largest city stayed away from the polls Tuesday, scared off by Islamic militants demanding a boycott of state legislative elections or refusing on principle to cast their ballots.

Though turnout in the second round of state elections was only 11 percent in Srinagar, voters in the Jammu and Badgam regions were less daunted, boosting turnout in the three districts that voted Tuesday to 42 percent.

Near the 15th century mosque in Srinagar, the largest city in Kashmir, a lone woman was the only person who turned out at one polling station.

“Around 3 o’clock, one woman came to vote, that’s all. We got bored sitting around all day,” said Azmat Ali, polling officer for the precinct of nearly 1,000 voters.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee praised those who defied the Islamic militants who have tried to disrupt the polls in the nation’s only majority Muslim state with attacks on candidates, voters and police. The rebels say the elections, which began earlier this month, are rigged in favor of the ruling, pro-India National Conference party.

“Rarely has there been an election in which the voters have had to brave threats to their very lives just to exercise their fundamental right,” Vajpayee said. “Irrespective of who wins, it is clear to the whole world that, in Jammu and Kashmir, the ballot is winning a resounding victory over the bullet.”

Kashmiris have lived in a virtual state of emergency during the 12-year insurgency by Islamic guerrillas seeking the state’s independence or merger with Muslim Pakistan. At least 60,000 people have been killed.

Vajpayee told the people of Kashmir most of whom feel neglected and alienated by his Hindu-nationalist party that they had opened “a new chapter of peace and development” in their state’s history.

But in the Pakistan-controlled section of Kashmir, an Islamic militant leader praised Kashmiris for their “boycott” of the polls. “We are thankful to all those who responded to our appeal and boycotted the elections in Indian-occupied Kashmir,” said Syed Salahuddin, chairman of the United Jihad Council, an association of 15 militant groups.

A call by separatists to boycott the polls was heeded by those who live in Srinagar’s old city, a stronghold of those who favor independence or merger with Pakistan.

“In my neighborhood, not a single vote will be cast,” said shopkeeper Ghulam Ahmad before that one woman proved him wrong. “We want independence, nothing less. Voting is a fraud.”

In contrast, Hindu villagers in the Jammu district near the Pakistan border stood in long lines to vote early, hoping to avoid the daily firing between Indian and Pakistani soldiers.

It was difficult to characterize Tuesday’s turnout, since the three districts that voted reflect different political and religious communities. Leaders from each faction, however, claimed the relatively low turnout was a victory for their side.

Just as polls opened Tuesday morning, security forces killed two militants who on Monday night seized a house used as a voting station and killed two policemen.