Over 50 percent voting in Daman and Diu (Third Lead)

Over half of the electors in Daman and Diu voted till afternoon Wednesday for the lone parliamentary seat in the union territory, officials said.

State polling official Rachna Gupta said 52.65 percent voting was recorded till 1 p.m.

"Balloting has been largely peaceful and is moving on smoothly. No untoward incident has been reported yet," the official said.

Incumbent MP Lalubhai Patel of the Bharatiya Janata Party faces Ketan Dahyabhai Patel of the Congress, Bhavesh Patel of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Kessur Goan of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Voting was moderate in the first couple of hours, with 14.35 percent turnout after polling began at 7 a.m. However, it picked up during the day.

District Election Officer Ramesh Verma said the turnout was expected to be higher than the 71.32 percent recorded in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Polling is taking place Wednesday at 119 polling stations, with over 111,000 people eligible to exercise their franchise.