NEW DELHI, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A man chopped off his index finger after he accidentally cast his ballot for India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pawan Kumar, 25, got confused by the symbols on the electronic voting machine, which include a lotus representing the BJP and an elephant for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a regional heavyweight party that has allied with other regional parties against the BJP.
"I wanted to vote for the elephant, but I voted for the flower by mistake," Kumar said in a video posted online, referring to the election on Thursday in Bulandshahr in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Since the index finger of every voter is marked with indelible ink after they cast their votes to make sure they will not vote again, Kumar didn't have the chance to revise his choice.
Frustrated by the mistake, Kumar cut off his finger with a meat cleaver after returning home and was then rushed to the hospital.
Thursday's elections were the second phase of the seven-phase Indian general elections which kicked off on April 11. The last phase of the elections will be held on May 19 and the vote count is scheduled for May 23.
