The Indian capital began voting on Sunday morning to elect its three civic bodies amid strong competition between the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, said electoral officials.

People queued up outside 11,543 booths across the capital to vote for elections of the three-bodied Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Over 10 million voters are expected to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 2,423 candidates for 272 seats.

A total of 30,000 armed police personnel have been deployed at the booths to ensure security and free elections.

The BJP, which rules the corporation, had swept the 2007 elections.

Apart from the Congress and the BJP, regional parties like the Samajwadi Party, which has recently won the legislative election in India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh, have also fielded candidates.