Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited Arichal Munai in Tamil Nadu, the “starting point of the Ram Setu”, a day before he heads to Ayodhya for the Ram temple consecration, signalling the centrality of Modi and Ram to the BJP’s general election campaign in the north and south.

“Had the opportunity to be at Arichal Munai, which holds a special significance in Prabhu Shri Ram’s life. It is the starting point of the Ram Setu,” Modi posted on X with pictures of him praying against the background of the Indian Ocean.

As in Arichal Munai, Modi will be the cynosure at the Ayodhya spectacle on Monday with the veteran campaigners of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, BJP stalwarts L.K. Advani (96) and Murli Manohar Joshi (90), pushed to the sidelines.

Neither Advani, who led the Somnath-to-Ayodhya Rath Yatra in 1990, nor Joshi — a witness to the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 along with Advani — will attend the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya despite being invited.

“Advaniji has cancelled his trip in view of the severe cold weather and fog,” Deepak Chopra, secretary to Advani, told The Telegraph.

Sources at Joshi’s home said he would not go, either, but cited no reason. “Only Joshiji can say why he is not going,” the person who took the call said, without identifying himself.

Amid the fanfare over Monday’s event, the BJP kept up its attack on the Opposition.

“Identify these unrighteous people! Those who oppose Ram temple, insult Sanatan Dharma,” the party wrote on X, posting images of almost all the main Opposition leaders.

The Congress was singled out for a separate, more scathing, salvo.

“Congress has refused to attend the consecration of Ram Lalla on Jan 22, but did not shy away from visiting the grave of Babar, under whose leadership the Ram temple of Ayodhya was demolished,” the party posted on X.

Accompanying the post was a video with a voiceover that claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had visited Babar’s grave in Afghanistan.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman too joined in, accusing the DMK government in Tamil Nadu of being “anti-Hindu”.

She claimed the state government had “banned watching live telecast” of the Ram temple inauguration – a charge denied as “false information” by P.K. Sekar Babu, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister for Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HC&CE).

“TN govt has banned watching live telecast of #AyodhaRamMandir programmes of 22 Jan 24. In TN there are over 200 temples for Shri Ram. In HR&CE managed temples no puja/ bhajan/ prasadam/ annadanam in the name of Shri Ram is allowed. Police are stopping privately held temples also from organising events,” Sitharaman posted on X.

Babu issued a statement saying: “Strongly condemn the spreading of false information.... The HR & CE department hasn’t introduced any limitations on devotees freedom to offer food, conduct poojas in the name of Shri Ram....”

He accused Sitharaman of “purposefully propagating the erroneous information”.

Modi, who has undertaken an 11-day “special ritual” to prepare himself for the temple consecration, has been leading a campaign to turn Ram into a national deity with special focus on the Opposition-ruled southern states.

“Frankly, we are amazed by the fervour generated over the Ram temple Pran Pratistha. The euphoria in the southern states has particularly excited us. It’s beyond our expectations,” a BJP leader said, giving the sole credit to Modi.

“The way Modiji has used Ram and the Ram temple to spread the Hindutva spirit in the southern states, we are confident of reaping benefits in the elections.”

Most southern states, barring Karnataka and to some extent Telangana, have so far resisted the appeal of Modi.

Party managers said this was just the beginning and, after Monday’s consecration, the BJP would exploit the euphoria over the Ram temple to the hilt in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, expected in April-May.

The BJP and other Sangh Parivar outfits have decided to ferry thousands of people to Ayodhya daily on special trains for “Ram Lalla darshan”.

The railways have announced 200 “Aastha Special” trains to Ayodhya from across the country after January 22.

“The special trains will run for nearly a month. Our target is to ensure that by the time the elections are announced, crores of people have already visited Ayodhya,” a BJP leader said.

He said the pilgrims who return from Ayodhya would be expected to amplify the BJP agenda ahead of the general election.