Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 15 (IANS): Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor, aiming for a hat-trick of wins, Monday suffered a freak accident while performing a ritual at a temple near here, leading to eight stitches on his head.

After preliminary celebrations at his home here on Vishu, the traditional New year festival, Tharoor left for the popular Gandhari Amman temple.

Praying while seated on the weighing balance, as part of a temple ritual, the chains holding the balance broke and fell on Tharoor's head. He was rushed to the state-run general hospital.

Tharoor's wounds needed eight stitches and he was taken for scanning, the doctors said, adding that the Congress leader's condition was now normal.

Tharoor is engaged in a tough three-way electoral battle with former Mizoram Governor Kummanem Rajasekheran of BJP and CPI's C. Divakaran, a sitting legislator and former state Minister.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Tharoor scraped through with a margin of around 15,000 votes aginst BJP's O. Rajagopal, who is now a MLA.