Key Points
CNN . . Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his way to meditate inside an island shrine for two days to cap weeks of election campaigning his latest public display of religiosity days after proclaiming he was sent by god.. . Indias election is the worlds largest, a mammoth exercise in democracy that has taken place over six weeks..
. Modi will visit the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, a pilgrimage site off Indias southernmost tip, from May 30 to June 1, according to Indian state broadcaster DD News.. ..
When he first contested national elections a decade ago, Modi chose Indias spiritual capital Varanasi as his constituency, making the ancient city the perfect backdrop to meld his religious and political ambitions.. ..
At the end of that campaign, Modi visited Pratapgad in the western state of Maharashtra, where the Hindu-led Maratha forces won a historic battle against the Mughal empire army in the 17th century.. . Toward the end of the 2019 national elections, which he also won, Modi went to meditate in the revered Kedarnath shrine dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Shiva high in the Himalayas.. ..
In a country where about 80% of the population are followers of the polytheistic faith, critics say Modis brandishing of Hinduism has led to rising Islamophobia and persecution of the countrys more than 200 million Muslims.. . Modi and theBJP have increasingly resorted to overtly Islamophobic language during his recent election speeches..
