India’s prime minister attracted ire and bemusement yesterday after donning saffron robes to meditate in a Himalayan cave, as the country votes in that final stage of its election.

In pictures released by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the PM is seen wearing the orange garments synonymous with Hindu priests and sitting cross-legged in a cave near the Kedarnath shrine, in the northern state of Uttarakhand.

A master of the grand political gesture, Mr Modi and his aides tweeted the photos, hoping they would strike a chord with his austere, religious supporters.

The election is seen as a referendum on Modi and his divisive Hindu-nationalist agenda as the pro-business BJP seeks another five years in power.

The BJP's main opposition is the Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has produced three prime ministers. The results are due on Thursday.