The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to picturesque Adi Kailash located in the Himalayas ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in the five States has again showed the deep faith Modi has in Lord Shiva and Uttarakhand, the abode of gods. In his Pithoragarh visit on Thursday, the PM paid obeisance at Adi Kailash also known as Chhota Kailash, located at an altitude of more than 14,000 feet. Donning traditional attire of the Rang community, the PM appeared immersed in deep devotion to Lord Shiva. Though the visit of PM is being linked with the promotion of religious and spiritual tourism in Pithoragarh district and in Manaskhand area of Uttarakhand, the political message from the message is also clear. The election commission of India had recently announced the dates of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh (November 17), Chhattisgarh (November 7 and 17), Rajasthan (November 25), Telangana (November 30) and Mizoram (November 7). The political analysts are dubbing the assembly elections in the five States as semi finals for the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

 The offering of prayers by Modi at the holy shrine of Adi Kailash, sacred Parvati Kund and ancient Jageshwar temple gives a clear message to the followers of Hinduism which is in majority in the four states of MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana. It should be recalled that the PM had visited Kedarnath shrine in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand in October last year to take blessings of Lord Shiva just ahead of the assembly elections of his home State Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The BJP regained Gujarat with a thumping majority but it lost to Congress in Himachal Pradesh. It is pertinent to mention here that PM Modi has visited Kedarnath six times after he became the PM in the year 2014. He visited Kedarnath shrine before the assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in November 2021. Interestingly the BJP regained power in both these States. PM Modi came to offer prayers at Kedarnath shrine in May 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier in April 2018, the PM had visited Kedarnath shrine just before the assembly elections of Karnataka where the followers of Shaivism constitute a formidable vote bank.

Senior journalist Dinesh Juyal said that the visit of PM Modi was chiefly a political show aimed to woo the electorate in the upcoming assembly elections in the five states.