Modi pays tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ahead of historic 3rd term swearing-in as Prime Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his day Sunday by paying tributes to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mahatma Gandhi, and visiting the National War Memorial ahead of being sworn in for an unprecedented third consecutive term as India's leader.

Modi visited the War Memorial in the morning along with outgoing Defense Minister Rajnath Singh before offering floral tributes at Rajghat. He will take the oath of office at 7:15 PM along with his new council of ministers. He becomes the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to win three successive full terms.

In a nod to India's "Neighbourhood First" policy, several regional leaders are attending the ceremony as honoured guests, including the presidents of Sri Lanka and Maldives, vice president of Seychelles, and prime ministers of Bangladesh, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan.

The invitees will also join a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan later in the evening.

Tight security is in place, with over 1,100 Delhi traffic police personnel deployed. Construction workers involved in the new Parliament building will be special guests.

However, Congress leader KC Venugopal said that the opposition leaders have not received any information from the government regarding the swearing-in ceremony of PM-designate Narendra Modi.