Modi remains hugely popular and is expected to be elected for a third term once the voting is over.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditated on rocks off the Indian coast on Friday in a final appeal to his Hindu base as a marathon national election drew to a close.
Modi remains popular and is widely expected to win a third term when polls close, AFP reported, largely due to the image he has cultivated as a vocal defender of the faith of the country’s majority.
A decade into power, Modi has regularly meditated, fasted and visited temples to burnish his religious credentials despite India’s secular constitution. The 73-year-old prime minister arrived late Thursday at the memorial to Swami Vivekananda, a prominent 19th-century Hindu monk and philosopher, for his latest ritual. A photo released by Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) showed him sitting cross-legged, eyes closed and holding a rosary in one arm. Local media reports said around 2,000 police and security personnel were guarding the venue in the southern state of Tamil Nadu for the two-day meditation, which will end on Saturday, the last day of voting in the general election. Modi had also undertaken a similar retreat just before winning India’s last election in 2019, meditating for several days in a cave in the foothills of the Himalayas.
This year he presided over the inauguration of a grand temple to Lord Rama, built on the site of a centuries-old mosque in Ayodhya that was destroyed by Hindu fanatics in 1992.
Muhammad Saleh Zafir adds: “With PM Modi being unreachable of late, Indian media is debating whether India needs a Deputy PM. A former senior official in the Indian Prime Minister’s Office told media that PM Modi should be appointed an acting PM as he is the sole head of the Nuclear Command. Issues of insufficient attention to important national affairs are also emerging, but only spoken of in hushed tones. Now that PM Modi has decided to go for meditation, who is in charge of the Southern Block? And who is next in charge? As per the Cabinet list, the next in line in terms of seniority is Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. So technically, if the PM is unable to perform his duties, he should be held responsible. Rajnath is known for his irresponsible statements and actions.”
“On very urgent issues like the serious border situation with China and Pakistan, the prime minister cannot be completely out of touch. If such an incident arises, he will have to wake up from his meditation. But day-to-day issues can be handled by the cabinet and senior ministers,” the former Indian cabinet secretary said.
