He was first admitted to the General Hospital in the city and later had to be shifted to the Medical College Hospital here. He received six stitches on his head. There are injuries on his legs too.

The mishap happened at the Gandhari temple here. It is reported that the iron rope of links broke while he was being weighed against offerings. The broken heavy iron hook, which came down in great force because of his sudden fall, hit his head.

Thulabharam is a very ancient temple riual usually undertaken for the fulfilment of one's wishes and prayers. In this ritual, the devotee sits on one side of the weighing scale and on the other side the offerings of equal weight are kept. Grains or fruits or jaggery are usual offerings.

The scale has two plates like flat seats or pans large enough to hold the devotee on the one and offerings of equal mass on the other, which is gradually adjusted to balance. These are hung by three or four iron chains each from the ends of a horizontal rod hung at the centre from a fulcrum.

In the election, he faces the BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan and CPI(M)- led LDF candidate C Divakaran. Tharoor returned to India from his long United Nations assignment, and was elected to Parliament in 2009. The polling in Kerala will be in a single phase on April 23 in the seven- phase Lok Sabha elections in the country. Results will be out on May 23.