With over 200 public events, 80 interviews, PM Modi wraps a hectic Lok Sabha election campaign

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his election campaign in Punjab's Hoshiarpur on Thursday, for the final phase of the general elections, which are set for Saturday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is eying its third term in office, and Prime Minister Modi has extensively campaigned for his party across the length and breadth of the country.

After wrapping up his Lok Sabha election campaign, PM Modi is scheduled to visit Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari from May 30 to June 1, where he will visit the renowned Vivekananda Rock Memorial.

The Prime Minister plans to meditate at the Dhyan Mandapam, the same spot where Swami Vivekananda once meditated, from the evening of May 30 to the evening of June 1.

This is the southernmost tip of India. Further, this is the place where India's eastern and western coastlines meet. It is also the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea. PM Modi is sending a signal of national unity by going to Kanyakumari.

The Prime Minister is known to undertake spiritual journeys at the end of election campaigns. In line with this, he will reach Kanyakumari on May 30 and stay there till June 1. In 2019, he visited Kedarnath, and in 2014, he visited Shivaji's Pratapgarh.

The PM kicked off his poll campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha election in Kanniyakumari on March 16 this year.

The Prime Minister held more than 200 election campaign events, which included his rallies and roadshows for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, in 75 days.

Prime Minister Modi held rallies in various constituencies for the seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections. Some of the major states where he held most of the roadshows and rallies include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Odisha.

PM Modi also gave a record number of interviews to different media organisations and highlighted the development work done by the BJP-led government at the Centre.

He also criticised the opposition over various issues, including reservations based on religion, the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, and others.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, PM Modi spoke about his party's performance in West Bengal in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and said the party will get maximum success in the state.

"In Bengal elections, the TMC party is fighting for existence. You must have seen it in the last assembly elections, we had three seats. The people of Bengal took us from three to 80. We got a lot of support in the Lok Sabha in the last elections. This time, the best-performing state in India is going to be West Bengal. BJP is getting most success in West Bengal."

Slamming Congress and the Gandhi family over amending the Constitution during their tenure, PM Modi said that till the time he is alive, he won't allow anyone to play with the basic fundamentals of the Constitution.

When asked in an interview with India Today about the opposition claims that the Constitution will be rewritten if the BJP is voted to power, Prime Minister Modi said, "The question that should be asked is: who was the first to play with the Constitution? Pandit Nehru did. He brought the first amendment, which was meant to restrict freedom of speech. His daughter (Indira Gandhi) then overturned the court verdict by bringing an amendment. Then her son (Rajiv Gandhi) came and overturned Shah Bano's verdict. He changed the Constitution."

"He brought a law to restrict media. The opposition was strong, and the media was also growing strong. They said they would not allow the imposition of another emergency. This scared him, and he had to withdraw," he added.

He further slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for tearing apart a copy of the ordinance, which was passed by the Union Cabinet in 2013. The ordinance was later withdrawn by the Manmohan Singh-led government.

"Then his son (Rahul Gandhi) came, a remote control government was being run at that time, and they had a PM of their choice. A cabinet formed as per the Constitution took a decision, and a 'Shehzada' came and publicly tore apart the cabinet decision. Later, Cabinet also overturned its decision," he said.

PM Modi also said that the implementation of 'One nation, One election', which is one of the key promises made by his party, the BJP, in its poll manifesto, is the "commitment" of his government.

In an interview with ANI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the committee formed under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind to prepare the report on One Nation, One Election received very positive and innovative suggestions.

"One Nation, One Election, is our commitment. We have talked about this in parliament as well. We have also formed a committee. The committee has also submitted its report. So in terms of One nation, One election, many people have come on-board in the country. Many people have given their suggestions to the committee. The committee received very positive and innovative suggestions and the country will benefit a lot if we are able to implement this report," the PM said.

Voters from 57 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across eight states and Union Territories will exercise their franchise in the seventh and final phase of polling on Saturday, marking the end of about 44-day-long polling exercise.

The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats is being held in seven phases starting April 19. The counting of the votes will be held on June 4.