PM Modi to end campaign with 48-hour meditation break at Kanyakumari
New Delhi, May 28
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will end his 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign with a 48-hour meditation break in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari in keeping with the past practice of undertaking spiritual journeys at the end of national poll cycles.
In 2014, the PM had visited Maharashtra’s Pratapgad, the place where Maratha forces led by Shivaji had marked their first major military triumph by defeating Bijapur troops under Afzal Khan in 1659.
On the last day of the 2019 campaign, Modi had meditated at Rudra cave near Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand and was widely photographed in saffron gear. This time, the Prime Minister, eyeing a historic third term in office, will visit Kanyakumari from May 30, the day the campaign for the final and seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections end. He will arrive at Vivekananda Rock Memorial and meditate from the evening of May 30 to the evening of June 1 for nearly 48 hours at the same place where Swami Vivekananda meditated. The Rock Memorial stands near the statue of Tamil saint Thiruvalluvar, located mid-sea.
“This rock had a major impact on Swami Vivekananda’s life. People believe that like Sarnath holds a special place in the life of Gautam Buddha, the rock in Kanyakumari holds a similar place in the life of Swami Vivekananda. It was here that he arrived after wandering across the country and mediated for three days and attained the vision for a developed India,” official sources said. They said meditating at the same place as Swami Vivekananda signalled the PM’s commitment to bringing the former’s “vision of Viksit Bharat to life”. “Goddess Parvati also meditated at the same place on one foot as she waited for Lord Shiva,” sources said. Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India, is also the place where India’s eastern and western coastlines meet.
“It is also the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. PM Modi will give a signal of national unity by going to Kanyakumari. The fact that he will visit Tamil Nadu even after the polls conclude shows his deep commitment and affection for the state,” a background note about the PM’s visit said.
