Electronic voting machine
In picture: An electronic voting machine.Twitter/Doordarshan News

A Dalit voter, Pawan Kumar, chopped off his index finger after he wrongly voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) instead of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district during the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Thursday. A shocking video of the disgruntled voter chopping off his index finger has now gone viral on the social media.

Kumar said that he got confused by the symbols of the political parties and pressed the button on a flower (lotus sign of BJP) instead of the elephant sign of the BSP. Sad with the incident, Kumar chopped off his index voter where the indelible ink mark was put after casting a vote. 

Party symbols along with the name of the contesting candidate appear on the EVMs and the voter is supposed to press one button which will make his ballot valid. In a country where the illiteracy is still widespread, party symbols play a significant role for the voters to choose a candidate.

In Uttar Pradesh, which will send the most number of representatives (Members of Parliament) to Lok Sabha (80), there is an open contest between the ruling BJP and the coalition of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal. The BJP has strengthened its position in the past few years and stunned its opponents paving way for a grand alliance between the arch-rivals.

In Bulandshahr, BJP candidate Bhola Singh was subjected to a day of confinement by the Election Commission after he violated the Model Code of Conduct by addressing a gathering of voters inside a polling booth.

Under the rules, the candidates can visit the polling station but cannot speak to the voters. Singh, who is the incumbent BJP MP from the constituency, had told the local police that he had permission from the District Magistrate and Returning Officer, Abhay Singh, the Times Now reported.

Meanwhile, veteran SP leader and former UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati will share the same stage for the first time while addressing a rally in Mainpuri.

Watch the video here: