PM Modi arrives at Ram Temple in Ayodhya

Modi, the chief patron of the consecration, has started his rituals. He is seated beside RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat. 

The much-awaited consecration or pran pratishtha ceremony, a mega religious event, is seen by many as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's attempt to launch its campaign ahead of the national polls.

From celebrities to politicians and seers, Ayodhya is currently overwhelmed by people from far and wide places who hope to witness a watershed religious event that will mark the course of the nation in the coming months. Many of them arrived in private jets for the ceremony.

A majority of Hindus claimed that the site was the birthplace of Lord Ram before Muslim Mughals razed a temple at the spot to build the Babri Masjid.

In a landmark verdict in 2019, the Supreme Court handed over the land to the Hindu community and ordered to allot a separate plot to Muslims.

The temple site remained an issue of bitter contest between Hindus and Muslims with both the religious factions laying claim to it for nearly seven decades.

It also witnessed violence in 1992 when a mob destroyed a 16th-century mosque which stood at the site, which was built over a Hindu temple according to the court's final verdict.