Swami Ramdev Hailed as the Architect of the 2014 Election

By Manu Shah
He has been called “the voice of yoga”, the “fearless sanyasi” and “soldier saint.” Baba Ramdev has revived the ancient practice of yoga and Ayurveda and has millions of faithful followers globally. However for the past five years he did something as revolutionary – he “awakened the masses.”
Swami Ramdev embarked on a crusade that unified India and infused a sense of patriotism among Indians. He started the Bharat Swabhiman Trust in 2009 and launched a mass movement campaign urging Indians to remove a Government which was turning a blind eye to the rampant corruption and scams in every sector and department.
Everywhere he went he spoke forcefully about the issues that were bringing India down – the black money, rising crime rates and the fall of the rupee and repeatedly hammered home the point that Indians are poor because we have been looted by the Mughals, the British East India Company and the Congress government.
The announcement to make Modi the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate was made by Swami Ramdev in Uttarkhand and he reiterated it at the inauguration of Acharyakulam in Haridwar on April 26, 2013 in the presence of Modi who was the Chief Guest in front of 50,000 people in Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar. On September 8, 2013 he prophesized that the BJP would win more than 300 seats and in a few days his call to nominate Modi as the future Prime Minister of India was approved by the BJP.
Swami Ramdev crisscrossed the country urging Indians everywhere to vote for the BJP and Modi who he described as a “blessing from God” and a “ray of hope.” He addressed 120 million people directly through more than 1,000 public meetings and debated energetically with every media channel and newspaper to reach the masses! An interesting fact that emerged during the BJP’s victory celebrations was that like Chanakya, he also undertook a vow or pratigya nine months ago that he would not enter Haridwar until the Congress government was defeated!

On January 5, 2014, Modi joined Swami Ramdev in celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Bharat Swabhiman Trust and offered the following praise:“Yog Ke Is Mahapavitra Abhiyan ko Pranam Karta Hoon.” (I offer my respects to this great selfless yogi’s campaign)
Swami Ramdev’s outspokenness against the Congress party cost him dearly. There were regular crackdowns on Patanjali Yogpeeth by Income Tax officials, he had hundreds of cases slapped on him, a peaceful protest by his supporters at the Ram Lila Maidan in Delhi was lathi charged by the police and he was not spared even on his international visits. Despite this, Swami Ramdev remained unflappable and laser focused on his goal to liberate India from the Congress.
Swami Ramdev visited Houston in September 2013 and encouraged people to help him achieve his goal. He was given a standing ovation and his message was taken to heart. Volunteers called family, friends and even total strangers urging them to vote for Modi! As voting time neared, Swami Ramdev launched a support campaign “Dharmayuddha 2014” on March 23, where his volunteers went door to door to work for a 100% voter turnout.
On May 13, 2013, the management of Patanjali Yogpeeth, USA and Bharat Swabhiman Overseas met Swami Ramdev in Delhi to discuss the work being done by the USA Trust. He inspired the members to move forward with greater speed to build the Patanjali Yoga and Research Center in Houston and to begin research collaborations with top US Universities and Medical Colleges on yoga and Ayurveda and is expected to visit the US this year..
There is little doubt that Swami Ramdev had a significant impact on the outcome of the elections. Modi, along with several high ranking BJP leaders, like Arun Jaitley and BJP President Rajnath Singh have publicly acknowledged his contribution in making the elections a national movement.