Kerala Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday was injured while performing the Tulabharam ceremony, which involves sitting on one side of a balance scale with offerings equivalent to his weight on the other side, reports said. Tharoor was administered eight stitches on his head at the General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

The lawmaker purportedly fell after the balance scale broke, The News Minute reported.

The incident occurred at the Gandhari Amman Temple in Tharoor’s constituency of Thiruvananthapuram. The ceremony is a Hindu ritual and the offerings made, normally gold, grain or fruit, are considered to be a donation to the temple.

News agency ANI shared images of Tharoor with a bandaged head and in a purportedly blood-stained kurta.

Former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan is contesting against Tharoor.

All of Kerala’s 20 constituencies will vote on April 23.