Karma wins

Many analysts, at national and international levels, were quite confident that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would easily achieve the target of winning 400 seats in the election and the BJP would emerge as a majority party in the Lok Sabha after the results.

In such apparently favourable circumstances, I predicted in these pages (‘Modi’s astrology’, May 10) that: “Although Narendra Modi is in a good position to become the prime minister of India for the third time, the results of the ongoing elections in India will be a surprise for everyone, and Modi’s dream of securing 400 seats in the Lok Sabha will be shattered.” The prediction that "the post-election situation will be troublesome and worrisome for Modi", was unbelievable for many, as I received critical feedback even from across the border.

Moreover, in a special report published in The News on Sunday (TNS) on May 19, 2023, I further presented my in-depth analysis of the significance of secularism in the Indian elections with an emphasis that “In this year of karma, Modi will also have to face the consequences of his past deeds.”

The construction of Ram Mandir, where once the historical Babri Masjid was located, was seen as a symbol of the BJP's commitment to serve Hindu causes and an effective election strategy to secure votes from the majority population on religious grounds.

Coincidentally, I was on a tour to India when PM Modi inaugurated Ram Mandir on January 22, 2024, in a bid to fulfill a long-standing promise to move forward the ‘Hindutva’ agenda. The ceremony was widely celebrated across the country, with many states declaring a holiday to mark the day of the inauguration.

However, I found that secular people were not happy with the BJP's hardcore stance on the temple. According to them, even if it is assumed that Babri Masjid was once built on the Ram temple site hundreds of years ago, then the mistake of the past cannot be rectified by making another condemnable mistake of forcibly demolishing a holy place of worship.

Many people were also angry at controversial initiatives, such as CAA & NRC and the revocation of Article 370. According to them, India is geographically such a large country that its leadership must also show a large heart for every community. I therefore endorsed the stance of the Congress, accusing the BJP of exploiting the religious sentiments for political gains, and decided to boycott the event.

Undoubtedly, India under the leadership of Modi has made tremendous progress in many fields, but the election results have proved all my predictions accurate and correct, as the Modi-led BJP has secured only 240 seats out of 543 and lost its majority for the first time since coming into power in 2014. Interestingly, the BJP won 303 seats in the previously-held Lok Sabha elections in 2019, around 21 more than its score in the 2014 elections. The BJP faced an unexpected defeat in Ayodhya, a constituency considered a stronghold of the party, and it failed to find a single candidate to contest elections from Occupied Jammu & Kashmir.

Currently, when Modi is looking towards coalition parties to become prime minister for the third time, we should remember that the year 2024 is the year of Karma, in which every person has to get the result of his past deeds. Last year in December, I also made a similar prediction for former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan: that although he enjoyed huge popularity among the people, the political situation would not be favourable for him after the general elections – until he completes the karmic process of his past deeds.

Astrologically, the setback and unexpected results that the political leadership is facing today are all due to Karmic effects. In my view, the focus of everyone during the ongoing year must be to seek the blessing of God Almighty by serving humanity without any discrimination.

The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council. He tweets/posts @RVankwani