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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Kanyakumari to embark on a 45-hour meditation at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. This comes after the conclusion of the campaigning for the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Upon his arrival, the prime minister offered prayers at the Bhagavathy Amman Temple in the city before heading to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. He will meditate from the evening of Thursday to the evening of June 1 at Dhyan Mandapam, the place where revered Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda is believed to have had a divine vision about 'Bharat Mata'.
Security has been beefed up ahead of Modi's visit, with 2000 police personnel standing guard during his stay. The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy will also maintain tight vigil. The beach will be out of bounds for tourists from Thursday to Saturday, and private boats will not be allowed to ferry.
Modi has taken similar breaks at the end of the election campaign in the past. In 2014, he visited Pratapgarh, where a battle was fought between the Maratha forces led by Shivaji and the Bijapur troops under General Afzal Khan. In 2019, he became the first person to meditate in a special cave in Kedarnath.
The Congress party has opposed Modi's visit to the Vivekananda Rock memorial, alleging that he is trying to "circumvent" the silence period restrictions with his 48-hour meditation trip. The party has urged the Election Commission to ensure that it is not aired by the media as it violates the model code of conduct.
Campaigning for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections in 57 seats in seven states and the Union territory of Chandigarh on June 1 ended Thursday evening. Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term from Varanasi.
Since the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll schedule on March 16, Modi notched up a total of 206 public outreach programs, including rallies and roadshows. The prime minister surpassed his nearly 145 public engagements on the stump during the 2019 polls by a big margin. The campaign period this time was of 76 days, compared to the 68 days in the polls held five years ago.
Source: PM Modi arrives in Kanyakumari, to embark on 45-hr ‘dhyan’ at Vivekananda Rock Memorial