President Mahinda Rajapaksa left for India this morning to attend the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi, the President Officer said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi will be sworn in as India’s 15th Prime Minister at a grand function in the forecourt of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday evening.

All arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony of 63-year-old Modi , who led BJP to an astounding victory in the Lok Sabha polls, have been made. It is expected that nearly 3,000 guests, including seven SAARC Heads of Government, will attend the landmark event.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his Nepal counterpart Sushil Koirala, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam and Bangladesh Parliament Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will attend the ceremony.

This is the first time that SAARC Heads of Government have been invited to the swearing-in ceremony of an Indian Prime Minister.

President Pranab Mukherjee will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and his council of Ministers in the presence of a host of leaders, including outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi, besides leaders of various other parties and chief ministers of a number of states.

Modi will become the third person after Atal Behari Vajpayee and Chandrashekar to be sworn in as Prime Minister’s in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan.