As campaigning for the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections concluded, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a 45-hour meditation session at the iconic Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari on Thursday.
Upon his arrival in the city in the evening, the Prime Minister first offered prayers at the Bhagavathy Amman Temple before proceeding to the memorial. Modi will meditate from Thursday evening to June 1 at Dhyan Mandapam, the sacred site where Swami Vivekananda is believed to have had a divine vision of ‘Bharat Mata’.
Security measures have been significantly heightened due to Modi’s visit, with 2,000 police personnel deployed and additional vigilance maintained by the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy. Access to the beach has been restricted, and private boats are prohibited from operating in the area from Thursday to Saturday.
This meditation retreat mirrors similar breaks Modi has taken in previous election cycles. In 2014, he visited Pratapgarh, the site of a historic battle, and in 2019, he became the first person to meditate in a special cave in Kedarnath.
However, Modi’s visit to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial has faced opposition from the Congress party, which accused him of attempting to bypass election silence period restrictions. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi criticized the meditation trip, claiming it violates the model code of conduct and urged the Election Commission to prevent its broadcast. The party has filed a formal complaint with the poll body, arguing that Modi’s meditation is a form of indirect campaigning.
Campaigning for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections in 57 seats across seven states and the Union territory of Chandigarh concluded on Thursday evening. Voting is set for June 1 in all 13 seats of Punjab, four in Himachal Pradesh, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, three seats in Jharkhand, and Chandigarh. Prime Minister Modi is contesting for a third consecutive term from Varanasi.
Since the Lok Sabha poll schedule was announced on March 16, Modi has engaged in 206 public outreach programs, including rallies and roadshows. This surpasses his 145 public engagements during the 2019 polls, despite the campaign period being 76 days this time, compared to 68 days five years ago.
