Ayodhya: The Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony was held today in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a Mukhya Yajman. The Ram Mandir consecration ceremony was much awaited and attended by dignitaries from across the world. Indian celebrities from all walks of life had also been invited, and touched down on Ayodhya early on January 22 to offer prayers in the puja in Ram Mandir.

The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra sent special invites to the dignitaries. Here are the names of important personalities who attended the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya.

Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha Guest List

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Mukhya Yajman at the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony, in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel also graced the Ram Mandir event, along with senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat was a special invitee at the event, where Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, president of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was also present. Bhagwat was beside PM Modi at the Pran Pratistha ceremony of the Ram Lalla idol.

People from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Swaminarayan Sanstha were also in attendance.

BJP leaders, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti and Sadhvi Rithambara also attended the event.

Film Personalities, Sportspersons, Industrialists, Businessmen and Politicians come together at Ram Mandir

Celebrities from Mumbai who attended the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha included cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and cricketer Virat Kohli, while former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad arrived from Bengaluru.

Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Hema Malini, Kangana Ranaut, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal, Madhuri Dixit with husband Shriram Nene, Anupam Kher, Kangana Ranaut, Jackie Shroff, Ayushmann Khurrana, Randeep Hooda and Lin Laishram.

Singers Kailash Kher, Hariharan and Jubin Nautiyal were invited along with poet-lyricist Manoj Muntashir, and lyricist-adman Prasoon Joshi, and sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Singers Sonu Nigam and Anuradha Paudwal performed bhajans ahead of the Ram Mandir ceremony in Ayodhya.

However, actors Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, who had been invited for the Ram Mandir event, will not be able to attend it, as both are shooting for their film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan in Jordan. Ajay Devgn and Sunny Deol were also part of the guest list. Deol did not attend the event due to a back issue and had been advised rest, his publicist told Republic.

Filmmaker Rohit Shetty accompanied Ranbir and Alia to Ayodhya, while directors Rajkumar Hirani and Madhur Bhandarkar also attended the event. Directors Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi had also been invited.

Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri, lead actors from Ramanand Sagar’s television show based on the epic Ramayan, were part of the guests who attended the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha.

Among the dignitaries from south India included actors Rajinikanth, Dhanush, Ram Charan, Chiranjeevi and wife Surekha, who arrived today. Other south film personalities invited include Mohanlal, Yash, Prabhas, Rishab Shetty and Allu Arjun.

Former Indian cricket captains MS Dhoni and Mithali Raj had also been invited, as was Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma and Olympian archer Deepika Kumari and badminton champion Saina Nehwal.

Industrialists Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata were also special guests for the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha, along with Kumarmangalam Birla and wife Nirja Birla, Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran and Vedanta’s Anil Agarwal.

Businessman Ajay Piramal and wife Swati Piramal were also seen in Ayodhya.

Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda also graced the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha event.

However, veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani will give the Ram Mandir event a miss due to the extreme cold weather in Ayodhya.

VIPs who declined the invitation to Ram Mandir ceremony

Those who declined the invitation were Congress’ Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav had declined the invitation, saying that he would visit the Ram Mandir to offer prayers at a later date.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend the event. 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he would attend the Ram Temple with family at a later date, while Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president and former Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar declined the invite.  

Other invitees included former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, and former Attorney Generals KK Venugopal and Mukul Rohtagi, among others.

Zee’s Punit Goenka had also been extended an invite for the Ram Mandir ceremony.

Other industrialists and businessmen invited include Anand Mahindra, Ajay Shriram, K Satish Reddy, S N Subrahmanyan, Durali Divi, and Naveen Jindal.

Infosys’ NR Narayana Murthy and TCS CEO K Krithivasan were also invited, and heart specialist Dr Naresh Trehan.