Man Chops off Finger After Voting for BJP

Pawan Kumar, from Uttar Pradesh chopped off his finger after he realised he voted for the BJP.

A man named Pawan Kumar belonging to the Dalit community, cast his vote on 18th April, in Bulandshahr in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. These were the second phase of the Indian Lok Sabha Elections. He wanted to vote for Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The Dalit community is a mojot vote bank for the BSP.

In a video that has gone viral, Mr Kumar said that, “I wanted to vote for the elephant, but I voted for the flower by mistake”. When Mr Kumar realised that he voted for the wrong political party, he chopped off his index finger. He is referring to the party symbols displayed on the voting machine next to the name of each candidate.

While the BJP's symbol is a lotus, the elephant is the symbol of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). In India, most of the people are still uneducated. Party symbols are very important, as they are easy to identify. These elections will be held in seven phases. The votes will be counted on 23rd May. There are 900 million eligible voters in India. Which makes this the world’s largest elections.

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