Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on May 30 where he is likely to meditate at the Dhyan Mandapam, the same spot where Swami Vivekanand meditated, between May 30 and June 1. While the schedule of the Prime Minister’s programme is yet to be made officially available, reports quoting BJP sources say the PM will visit the Rock Memorial and meditate day and night during the two-day period.
The Prime Minister’s visit is expected to begin 48 hours ahead of polling in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on June 1. Modi’s scheduled visit is expected to be high on symbolism as he has chosen the same rock where Swami Vivekanand meditated for three days before attaining the vision for a developed India.
The Dhyan Mandapam or the Vivekanand Rock Memorial is located close to the stutue of Tamil saint Tiruvalluvar mid sea off the coast of Kanniyakumari, India’s southern-most tip.
The Prime Minister is expected to arrive in Kanyakumari on May 30 and may leave for Delhi on June 1, the day elections draw to a close. The counting of votes followed by the declaration of results is scheduled to be taken up on June 4.
The visit bears resemblance to PM Modi’s visit to Kedarnath where he was seen meditating in a holy cave dressed in saffron robes just ahead of the verdict of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
The Prime Minister, who has so far chosen Hindu shrines to strike a spiritual connect with voters, has chosen Kanyakumari with a view to send a message of national unity, BJP leaders were quoted as saying.
The seven-phase elections that began on April 19 will decide if Modi returns as the Prime Minister of the country for a third consecutive term, a feat that would see him equal the record of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.
PM Modi and the BJP, who set off the campaign with an aim of the NDA combine winning over 400 of the 543 seats, maintain that they will form a government at the Centre once again. The Prime Minister as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah have claimed that the BJP will equal, if not improve upon, the number of seats it won in the 2019 polls.