Indian man chops off his finger after mistakenly voting for wrong Party (Video)

An Indian voter identified as Pawan Kumar, chopped off his finger after he ended up voting the wrong party in a video that has gone viral.

Kumar who wanted to vote for a regional party – but was confused by the many symbols on the voting machine, accidentally ended up voting for the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, the voter who was aggrieved with mistakenly voting for the wrong party, chopped off his finger.

“I wanted to vote for the elephant, but I voted for the flower by mistake,” Mr Kumar can be heard saying in the video. He is referring to the party symbols displayed on the voting machine next to the name of each candidate. It was learnt that he cast his vote on Thursday in Bulandshahr in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. This was the second phase of polling in the Indian general election.

Party symbols play a big role in India’s elections because they are easy to identify in a country where literacy is low in many parts. There are also numerous regional parties and alliances, which often confuse voters. Mr Kumar is a Dalit (formerly known as untouchables) – a crucial vote bank for the BSP.

Thursday’s vote was seen as important for India’s powerful regional parties, which dominate politics in their states and are fronted by charismatic local politicians. The election is taking place over seven stages, with votes being counted on 23 May. There are 900 million eligible voters, making this the biggest election the world has ever seen.

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