DHAKA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people were reported to have died as voting was underway in Bangladesh's 11th general election amid violence in parts of the country.

Bangladeshi voters wait in line outside a polling station in Dhaka on December 30, 2018. (Photo: AFP)

The deaths have been reported from nine Bangladesh districts.

There were so far no official reports of deaths or injuries in the election violence.

In the election, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-led Grand Alliance is locking horns with former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies, which boycotted the 2014 election. 

Zia's BNP in October forged a new alliance "Jatiya Oikya Front (National Unity Front)" led by Kamal Hossain, once a stalwart of the Awami League, who left the party in the early 1990s and established his own "Gono Forum" in 1992.

Since February, Zia has been serving a 17-year jail term for a graft conviction, which her party said is politically motivated in an effort to sideline her from politics and elections. 

Hasina said the issue of her arch-rival Zia is a matter of court.

BNP spokesman Rizvi Ahmed Sunday accused ruling party men of resorting to violence and widespread irregularities, including stuffing ballot overnight, driving out its polling agents and capturing polling stations across the country.

Talking to journalists in Dhaka, he alleged that the government is trying to bring the election results in its favor through a lopsided election.

On the other hand, HT Imam, co-chairman of Awami League Election Steering Committee, termed the prevailing electoral atmosphere by and large peaceful except for some stray incidents.

He brushed aside the opposition's allegations, saying the Bangladesh polls will set an example in the region for its peaceful atmosphere.

Around 1,861 candidates are contesting for 299 out of the 300 directly-elected parliamentary constituencies.

Election at a constituency has been postponed last week due to the death of a candidate.

There are over 104 million registered voters in the country.

The voting started at 8:00 a.m. local time on Sunday at around 40,000 polling stations nationwide and will continue without a break until 4:00 p.m. local time.

Nearly one million security personnel including army, police and the Border Guard Bangladesh have already been deployed to ensure security in the election.