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Journalism of Courage
Even as Delhi votes Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Prayagraj to participate in the ongoing Maha Kumbh. It will not be the first time that a high-profile trip of the PM will coincide with polling in an election, either the same day as the voting or in the silent period of canvassing.
The Opposition has earlier raised concern about this, with the Congress approaching the Election Commission during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections alleging violation of the model code of conduct.
It was the election where Modi emerged as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. After wrapping up the campaign for the nine-phase Lok Sabha elections, the then Gujarat chief minister made a visit to the Pratapgarh fort in Satara district of Maharashtra.
The fort was the site of Maratha king Shivaji’s victory over the Mughals in the 17th century, following the famous killing of Afzal Khan with his “wagh nakh (tiger claws)”. The BJP’s campaign in Maharashtra had revolved around the revered Maratha king, while Maharashtra was up for Assembly elections later that year.
Addressing an event in Sangli in January 2014, Modi had said: “Along with fighting battles, Shivaji also dreamed of how an Independent India should be, how should its culture, traditions etc be. It was in this land of Maharashtra that a model for an independent India evolved. It was in this land that he set up a laboratory for building the nation. All this he did 350 years ago.”
The BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with an emphatic majority of 282 seats – the first time a party had won a simple majority at the Centre in three decades. The NDA, in all, had 336 Lok Sabha MPs of the total 543.
This was the first election that Modi went into as PM and was held in seven phases. This time, following the BJP’s campaign, where Modi traversed the length and breadth of the country, holding 142 events, he undertook a spiritual trip to the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand starting May 19.
He prayed and meditated in a cave there, for close to 17 hours. The Opposition accused the PM of “using religious sentiments” to garner votes in the 48-hour silent period before the polls.
In the final count, the BJP didn’t just return to power, it
bettered its 2014 tally, winning 303 seats. The NDA overall won 352 seats.
Leading the BJP’s “400 paar” slogan in the run-up to the polls, Modi held 204 events across the country during campaigning for the seven-phased polls.
Following the campaign, which the PM had started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Modi embarked on a 45-hour mediation exercise at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Rameshwaram, starting May 30, 2024. The last phase of voting was on June 1.
The election results were a setback to the BJP, with its tally falling to 240 – below the majority mark.
However, the NDA formed the government for the third time in a row with the support of allies like the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), which won 16 and 12 seats, respectively. Collectively, the NDA tally touched 293.
While polling was on for all the 90 Assembly in Haryana on October 5, 2024, PM Modi arrived for prayers at the Pohara Devi temple in Washim district of Maharashtra. He also met respected saints of the Banjara community there. The community also has a presence in Haryana.
On November 11, 2024, the last day of campaigning for 43 Assembly seats in Jharkhand for the first phase of elections, Modi participated in the 200th anniversary celebrations of Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Vadtal, Gujarat, and addressed the gathering through video conferencing.
On November 25, 2023, when polling was happening in Rajasthan as per a revised schedule, Modi completed a sortie on IAF’s multirole fighter jet Tejas. Clad in an olive green G-suit, Modi took a sortie on the indigenous trainer version of light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas during a visit to defence manufacturer HAL in Bengaluru.
A couple of days earlier, on November 23, the last day of canvassing for Rajasthan polls, Modi performed darshan and pooja at Shree Krishna Janmbhumi Mandir in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, a prominent Hindus religious site. Mathura is adjacent to Rajasthan.
During that visit, Modi also participated in Sant Mirabai Janmotsav, a programme to celebrate the 525th birth anniversary of Sant Mirabai in Mathura. In his speech, Modi mentioned that Meera Bai was born in Rajasthan. Two Rajasthan districts bordering UP, Bharatpur and Dholpur, are part of the Braj belt, which has Mathura at the core of it. The region also has a rich tradition of medieval Bhakti poetry, particularly Mirabai’s.
On November 5, 2023, the last day of canvassing for the first phase of poll in Chhattisgarh, Modi visited Maa Bamleshwari temple in Dongargarh in the state to offer prayers.
Then again, on November 15, 2023, the last of campaign for second phase of polls in Chhattisgarh for 70 seats, Modi visited Ulihatu Village in Jharkhand, the birthplace of ‘Bhagwan’ Birsa Munda — a leader revered as a saint by tribals — and paid tributes to his statue.
He was the first PM to visit Ulihatu village.
