An Indian man, Pawan Kumar chopped off his finger because he voted for the wrong party in the ongoing elections.
The voter chopped off his index finger after realizing he had voted for someone he didn’t want to.
Pawan said that when he accidentally voted for the right-wing Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party, he was so upset that he cut off his finger.
“I wanted to vote for the elephant, but I voted for the flower by mistak.,”
The video of the 25-years-old Dalit youth made rounds on the Internet. Pawan stated that he wanted to vote for a regional party Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but ended up voting for BJP.
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Mass Confusion
As to how he ended up voting for the wrong party, Pawan says he was confused by the numerous symbols on the voting machine.
The elephant is the symbol of BSP. The party is a regional heavyweight along with two other allied regional parties that are pegged against the BJP.
The 25-year-old Dalit youth cast his vote on Thursday in Bulandshahr in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. This was the second phase in India’s Lok Sabha elections.
#Watch: Shocker coming in from Bulandshahr, as a BSP supporter chopped off his finger after he allegedly pressed the wrong button on the EVM and voted for BJP instead. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/1YqYIr2QWq
— Mohit Sharma (@iMohit_Sharma) April 18, 2019
After the incident, Kumar was rushed to a hospital but was soon discharged following treatment.
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A Fatal Mistake
The fact that Pawan Kumar was overcome by frustration upon voting for the wrong party is explaianable. The BJP’s right-wing Hindu nationalism is hitting hard on minority groups such as Dalits. The Dalit minority are also among the most targeted minority groups, beset by racial violence all across India.
Party symbols play a big role in India’s elections because they are easy to identify. In a country where literacy is low, these symbols represent the easiest way forward for people to vote.
While the party symbols are supposedly easy to identify, sometimes regional parties and alliances deliberately confuse voters, like in the case of BSP and BJP here.
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The second phase of the Lok Sabha elections was important for India’s powerful regional parties. These parties dominate politics in their states and are fronted by charismatic local politicians.
After Thursday’s vote, the elections will continue till the last of the seven stages. Following this, votes will be counted on May 23rd.
There are 900 million eligible voters for the Lok Sabah elections 2019. It marks the biggest election the world has ever seen.
via BBC
