A high-octane electoral battle was underway in New Delhi on Wednesday as voters began casting their ballot early morning to choose the next government in charge of the Indian capital.

The election for 70 assembly seats of Delhi sees the country's political giants locked in a three-way contest.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejriwal, is fighting anti-incumbency after being in power for a decade.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — which rules in a coalition nationally — is vying for a comeback in Delhi after 27 years.

India's main opposition Congress party —  which is part of an alliance with AAP and other opposition parties, formed to challenge Modi's BJP in the 2024 general elections — is pitting itself against AAP and the BJP in Delhi.

Polling across the city started at 7 a.m. local time (0130 UTC) and will conclude at 6 p.m. (1230 UTC).

The results will be declared on Saturday.

Intense campaigning

In the weeks leading up to the elections, parties stepped up their campaigning with roadshows, rallies and press conferences.

Both Modi and his staunch critic Kejriwal have sought to woo voters with handouts, promising to improve government schools, free electricity and health services, and also a monthly allowance of more than 2,000 rupees (€22, $23) to poor women.

"Your vote is not just a button, it is the foundation of your children's bright future. It is an opportunity to provide good schools, excellent hospitals and a respectable life to every family," Kejriwal said on the social media platform X as he called on people to vote. 

Modi on Wednesday also urged voters to exercise their franchise calling the election a "festival of democracy."

Several political pundits called Congress' campaign lackluster, but in the last week of the drive the party picked up pace, with scions Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi holding 12 public meetings. 

Kejriwal's woes

AAP scooped up 62 seats in the last election in 2020 and Kejriwal was elected the chief minister.  But the leader has been mired in legal troubles culminating in his arrest in March last year, just a month ahead of the parliamentary elections, on allegations of corrupt allocation of liquor licenses. 

AAP has vehemently denied the graft charges and accused the Modi government of using federal agencies as tools to harass political challengers with raids and arrests. 

Kejriwal stepped down as the top Delhi minister after the Supreme Court allowed his release on bail in September and was replaced by former Delhi education minister Atishi Marlena Singh.

The former civil servant said he was putting his fate in the hands of the public. 

The vote comes as Prime Minister Modi was in Uttar Pradesh to take part in the Maha Kumbh Mela festival.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah