PM Modi likely to offer prayers at Lord Murugan temple during Madurai visit on March 1 ahead of assembly polls

Chennai: In a politically significant move ahead of the assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to offer prayers at the Lord Murugan Temple in Thiruparankundram, which was in the headlines over lighting of a lamp atop the hill, during his visit to Madurai on March 1.

Modi’s proposed visit to the temple comes at a time when the BJP’s efforts to milk the controversy over the state government’s refusal to light the lamp during Karthigai Deepam festival based on a court verdict ended in a failure.

The move also comes amid intense speculation that the BJP was convincing the AIADMK to allot Thiruparankundram assembly seat to the party, aiming at a Hindu consolidation at least in Southern Tamil Nadu, if not the whole state.

“The PM is likely to visit the Murugan Temple in Thiruparankundram on March 1. He is likely to spend about 15 to 30 minutes in the temple,” a source aware of the developments told DH. Modi will be in Madurai on March 1 to address a rally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and launch development projects.

Sources said Modi’s visit is aimed at bringing the Thiruparankundram temple issue back to the spotlight ahead of the elections. The BJP has been trying to make Lord Murugan its poster boy in Tamil Nadu since 2020 – the party organized a Vel Yatra in November 2020 and helped conduct a conference of devotees of Lord Murugan in Madurai in June 2025, but these efforts have not yielded enough results.

The PM’s visit, the state BJP hopes, will help it “expose” the DMK government’s “minority appeasement” politics and the efforts by the ruling party and its allies to move an impeachment notice against Justice G R Swaminathan, who ordered lighting of the lamp atop a Deepathoon on the hills.

“During his earlier visit to TN, the PM did call out the appeasement politics of the DMK. His visit to the temple will send out a big message to the Hindus in Tamil Nadu. Since we are planning to contest from this seat, the PM’s visit will help galvanize our alliance. With AMMK of TTV Dhinakaran in our alliance, we hope to win the seat if allotted to us,” a BJP leader said.

The BJP believes Murugan could bring votes to it in Tamil Nadu, much like Lord Ram helped the BJP expand its horizons across North India, though the southern state has never voted along religious lines.

Considered the Tamil god, Lord Murugan is believed to have resided in six abodes across the state and is one of the most worshipped deities in Tamil Nadu, transcending caste lines, particularly among backward communities.

With Murugan being worshipped by the downtrodden, the BJP feels invoking him will help the party not only woo backward communities but also shed the Brahminical image it had acquired in the past and stress the “inclusive” image it wants to project.

Thiruparankundram hill has been a haven of religious coexistence and communal harmony for centuries, hosting the Subramaniya Swamy temple, Kasi Viswanathan temple, and Sikkander Badusha dargah. However, in February 2025, Hindu organisations launched a protest after Lok Sabha MP Nawaz Kani allegedly consumed meat at the hills – since then, the temple has been at the centre of a row though the residents of the village continue to live in harmony.