Hope, Modi meditates on ‘Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas’!

Campaigning for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 concluded on Thursday, May 30, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started his 48-hour spiritual sojourn at Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari. During his hectic campaign schedule, he notched up a total of 206 public outreach programmes, including rallies and road shows since March 16.

Modi taking up a spiritual sojourn is nothing new. He did it in 2019 when he meditated in a cave in Himalayas. At that time also, it was during the silence period but there was no whimper from the opposition while this time they made a big issue but failed to gain any advantage since it in no way affects the Model Code of Conduct.

Rock Memorial is one powerful place where Swami Vivekananda, after going round the country, came to Kanyakumari, swam from the shores to the rocky islet to meditate. His disciples believe that he meditated there for three days and three nights on a rock located about 500 meters off the mainland, at the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea. It is believed that Vivekananda attained enlightenment there. Swami Vivekananda claimed to have had a vision of “Bharat Mata”.

According to Hindu beliefs, the rock was also the place where Goddess Parvati performed penance in devotion to Lord Shiva. A small projection on the rock is believed to be an imprint of her foot, adding to the religious significance of the site. “Meditating at the same place shows Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to bringing Swamiji’s vision of a Viksit Bharat to life,” BJP leaders feel. It also assumes importance as the BJP which may lose some seats in North is hoping for push into the South. Modi had taken up over a third of the trips to the South, particularly Tamil Nadu.

If one takes a look at the nearly two-month-long campaign that started after March16 with the slogan of ‘Ab ki baar 400 paar’ by BJP, the campaign did not have one overreaching narrative either for the saffron party or the opposition. There were different themes and rhetoric. Issues ranged from alleged amendment of Constitution if BJP gets 400-plus to caste census and lifting of cap on reservations by the opposition to Rahul Gandhi’s pet theme of redistribution of wealth with a lion’s share to Muslims, and Modi’s retaliation saying that bloc INDI would grab the assets, right from the Mangalsutra.

The BJP found itself at the receiving end as there was anger against it among the farmers in the northern states as they felt alienated. They comprise the biggest voting bloc in India. Conventionally also, they have never been with the saffron party. Even winning the tribal votes may not be so easy for BJP this time. There are 47 tribal reserved seats in Lok Sabha.

Against this backdrop, one hopes that the 48-hour meditation will help Modi put the campaign rhetoric on the backburner and focus on good governance and address the most important issues like creation of jobs and accelerating growth and zero tolerance for corruption, which happened between 2019 and 2024, particularly in states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. If the BJP-led NDA ends up with around 300-plus seats and forms the government, one can hope that next five years, the focus would be more on development and will follow the principle of ‘Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas.’