PM Modi Begins 45-Hour Meditation Retreat at Vivekananda Rock Memorial as Lok Sabha Campaigning Concludes

With the conclusion of campaigning for the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a 45-hour meditation retreat at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari on Thursday. Modi will meditate until the evening of June 1 at Dhyan Mandapam, the site where Swami Vivekananda is believed to have had a divine vision of ‘Bharat Mata.’

Upon arriving in Kanyakumari, the prime minister first offered prayers at the Bhagavathy Amman Temple before heading to the memorial. Security has been significantly increased for his visit, with 2,000 police personnel deployed, and the Indian Coast Guard and Navy maintaining a tight vigil. Additionally, the beach is off-limits to tourists from Thursday to Saturday, and private boats are not allowed to operate.

Modi’s meditation retreat follows a pattern seen in previous election years. In 2014, he visited Pratapgarh at the end of the campaign, and in 2019, he meditated in a special cave in Kedarnath.

The Congress party has opposed Modi’s visit to the memorial, accusing him of trying to circumvent the election silence period with his 48-hour meditation trip. They have filed a formal complaint with the Election Commission, claiming that the trip violates the model code of conduct. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated that Modi’s actions amount to campaigning or self-publicity during the restricted period.

Campaigning for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections, covering 57 seats in seven states and the Union territory of Chandigarh, ended on Thursday evening. Polling will take place 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 in Jharkhand, and Chandigarh. Modi is seeking a third consecutive term from Varanasi.

Since the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll schedule on March 16, Modi has participated in 206 public outreach events, including rallies and roadshows, surpassing his 145 public engagements during the 2019 elections. This campaign period lasted 76 days, compared to 68 days in the previous polls.