Narendra Modi pays respects at Rajghat, meets Vajpayee

Zee Media Bureau/Biplob Ghosal 11:55 am: BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who has not find a place in Modi`s Cabinet extended his wishes to the PM-designate. He tweeted:

My best wishes to the newly elected Prime Minister @narendramodi and his cabinet. I shall continue to look after the party work.

— Rajiv Pratap Rudy (@RajivPratapRudy) May 26, 2014

11:45 am: Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi, who would be attending Modi`s swearing-in ceremony said that nation would develop under his leadersip. 11:24 am Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai arrives in India to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. On Friday Athe Indian consulate in Afghanistan`s Herat province was attacked by militants. Fortunately no diplomatic staff was injured in the assault. 11:15 am: Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala arrives in India to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. 11:05 am: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reaches Delhi to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. Sharif is accompanied by wife Kulsoom Nawaz and son Hussain Nawaz. 11:05 am: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reaches Delhi to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. 10:56 am: MDMK president Vaiko along with his party supporters protests at Jantar Mantar against with the BJP`s invitation to Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa for Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. 10:47 am: Briefing reporters, LJP leader Chirag Paswan said that all probable ministers including party president Ram Vilas Paswan met Modiji. 10:42 am: NCP president Sharad Pawar reaches Delhi, confirms that he will be attending Modi`s swearing in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan today evening. 10:38 am: After meeting Modi, RLSP president Upendra Kushwaha said that he cannot confirm anything at present and one will have to wait till the swearing-in ceremony. 10:20 am: BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Najma Heptullah said she only had an informal meeting with PM-designate Narendra Modi. 10:10 am: Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar, who will be attending Modi`s swearing-in ceremony said that it is good that BJP has invited all SAARC leaders. 9:55 am: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi and outgoing PM Manmohan Singh have been invited for dinner with the heads of states, who are coming to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. 9:50 am: Speaking to ANI, Bollywood actor Anupam Kher confirmed his attendance for Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. He said, “It`s not a victory of BJP alone, but a victory for India.” 9:47 am: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi, an official said. 9:43 am: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrives in Delhi to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa had earlier expressed her unhappiness over invite to Rajapaksa. 9:38 am: BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who defeated Lalu Prasad Yadav`s wife Rabri Devi in the recently held General Elections is unlikely to get a Cabinet berth in Modi Cabinet. 9:35 am: Tamil superstar Rajnikanth, who had been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi today, will not attend the function, sources close to the actor said. 9:34 am Tamil superstar Rajnikanth, who had been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi today, will not attend the function, sources close to the actor said. 9:30 am:Prime Minister of Mauritius Navinchandra Ramgoolam arrives in Delhi to attend Narendra Modi`s swearing in ceremony. 9:24 am: Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Kalraj Mishra gets a call from Modi, may be rewarded with a Cabinet berth. 9:20 am: Sushma Swaraj and Najma Heptullah meet PM-designate Modi at Gujarat Bhawan 9:15 am: Reports say that Arun Jaitley is likely to get the Finance Ministry, Sushma Swaraj may be sworn-in as the Foreign Minister, Ravi Shankar and Dr Harsh Vardhan are expected to be the I&B Minister and Health Minister respectively. Nitin Gadkari is likely to get Minister of all transport including shipping, aviation, railways, surface and highways. 9:10 am: BJP president Rajnath Singh leaves for Gujarat Bhawan where Modi is meeting several BJP leaders. 9:05 am: As suspense continues over Modi Cabinet, list of the probable ministers siters has been sent to Rashtrapati Bhawan. 9:00 am:Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut confirms that party MP Anant Geete will be sworn-in as Cabinet minister.

8:55 am: Reports suggest that General VK Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and Dharmendra Pardhan may get Cabinet berths. 8:50 amAhead of Cabinet formation, BJP leaders Uma Bharti, Gopinath Munde, Ananth Kumar, Nitin Gadkari, Prakash Javadekar, Harsh Vardhan, Piyush Goel and Venkaiah Naidu meet Modi at Gujarat Bhawan. LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan also meets the PM-designate. 8:45am:Special prayers are being held for Narendra Modi in Varanasi. The BJP strongman had defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from Varanasi constituency in the Lok Sabha election with a huge margin of 371784 votes. 8:32 am: After seeking blessings, Modi leaves ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s residence and heads toward Gujarat Bhawan. 8:15 am: After paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajhat, Narendra Modi meets former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence and seeks his blessings. 8:12 am: New Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi confirms that he will attend Modi`s swearing-in ceremony. 8:10 am: As PM-elect Narendra Modi is all set to take oath as the 15th prime minister of India today evening, BJP leader Anurag Thakur tweeted:

Less than 12 hours to go before we can finally call him Prime Minister Narendra Modi :-) A new era is about to begin..— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) May 26, 2014

8:05 am: Modi is currently on his way to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s residence. He tweeted:

On my way to Atal ji's residence to seek his blessings.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2014

7:59 am: After observing silence for about a minute, Modi has left Rajghat along with his entourage.

PM-Designate Narendra Modi pays homage at Rajghat pic.twitter.com/ubKz3AKK14

— ANI (@ANI_news) May 26, 2014

7:54 am: PM-designate Narendra Modi has arrived at the Rajghat. After paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his `samadhi`, Modi is observing silence along with several other BJP leaders. 7:50 am: Modi has invited the heads of government of all SAARC nations, including Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, to his swearing-in ceremony. The Pak PM is due to arrive in New Delhi this morning. Modi and Sharif will also have a one-on-one meeting tomorrow, where they are expected to discuss bilateral ties. 7:45 am: ANI reports that Modi has left the Gujarat Bhawan, his temporary residence in the capital, and is on his way to Rajghat. 7:10 am: Several BJP leaders have gathered at Rajghat, ahead of PM-elect Narendra Modi`s arrival. Among them are Mahesh Giri, Harsh Vardhan, Manoj Tewari and Vijay Goel. 7:00 am: Tight security is in place in and around Rajghat, where PM-elect Narendra Modi will arrive shortly to pay respects to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

PM-designate Narendra Modi to pay homage at Rajghat today, security tightened ahead of his visit pic.twitter.com/A4gEGPAUOt— ANI (@ANI_news) May 26, 2014

6:55 am: Modi oath one of the biggest functions in Rashtrapati Bhavan PM-designate Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony Monday will be one of the biggest such events held at Rashtrapati Bhavan with around 4,000 guests, including seven heads of government, attending. Rashtrapati Bhavan has held ceremonies attended by 1,400-1,500 guests earlier. Modi`s swearing-in ceremony will be an open air event at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. A stage has been set up at the base of the steps, with hundreds of chairs placed in a semi-circle facing it for the ceremony, which shall be televised live. Earlier, the swearing-in ceremonies were held at Ashoka Hall, with around a 400-500 restricted guest list, said Omita Paul, secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee, briefing media Sunday on the arrangements. Only twice earlier have swearing-in ceremonies been held at the forecourt -- of Chandrashekhar in 1990 and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998 -- where the guests numbered around 1,200-1,300, said Paul. Also Read: Rashtrapati Bhavan all decked up for Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony Modi had yesterday tweeted that he will visit Rajghat Monday morning:

Tomorrow, will begin the day by visiting Raj Ghat & paying my respects to Pujya Bapu.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014

6:30 am: PM-designate Narendra Modi will on Monday take oath as the 15th prime minister of India. Modi will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Pranab Mukherjee at 6 pm this evening, in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.