Officials said 20-25 percent voting was reported from various parts of the state till noon in zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections being held in Punjab Sunday.
Heat wave conditions kept voters away from polling stations.
Elections to 22 zila parishads and 145 panchayat samitis are being held Sunday. Results will be declared Tuesday (May 21).
Over 50,000 policemen have been deployed for the elections at nearly 19,500 polling booths.
The main contest is between the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine and the opposition Congress.
There were no reports of any violence till noon. Pre-poll violence in the state claimed at least three lives.