Modi holds two-day meditation as election nears end

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was meditating on a rocky outcrop off India´s coast on Friday in a final appeal to his Hindu voter base as marathon national elections drew to a close.

According to an AFP report, Modi remains roundly popular and is widely expected to win a third term when the poll concludes, in large part due to his cultivated image as an aggressive champion of the country´s majority faith.

Modi´s decade in power has seen the leader engage in regular meditations, fasts and temple visits to burnish his religious credentials, despite India´s secular constitution. The 73-year-old arrived late Thursday at a monument to Swami Vivekananda, a renowned 19th-century Hindu monk and philosopher, for his latest ritual.Images published by Modi´s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) showed the premier sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and one arm clasping prayer beads. Local media reports said around 2,000 police and security personnel were guarding the site in the southern state of Tamil Nadu for the two-day meditation, which concludes Saturday on the final day of general election voting. Modi underwent a similar retreat immediately before his last election victory in 2019, when he spent days meditating inside a cave in the Himalayan foothills.

This year he presided over the inauguration of a grand temple to the deity Ram, built on the grounds of a centuries-old mosque in Ayodhya razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.

Muhammad Saleh Zafir adds: Since PM Modi is incommunicado these days, Indian media is discussing whether India needs a deputy prime minister. A former senior official of the Indian PMO told the media that Modi should designate an acting PM since he is the sole head of the nuclear command. The question of inadequate attention to important state affairs has arisen too, but only in hushed terms. With Modi deciding to go off to meditate, who is in charge of affairs in South Block? And who is next in line? As per the list of the council of ministers, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is next in line in terms of seniority. So technically, he should be taking charge if the prime minister is unable to discharge his duties. Rajnath is known for his irresponsible statements and actions.

A former Indian cabinet secretary said, “The PM cannot go totally incommunicado on very urgent matters like a serious border situation with China or Pakistan. He will have to be woken up from his meditation in such an event. However routine matters can be handled by his cabinet and senior ministers.”