Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has taken oath as India's prime minister for a third time.

The ceremony took place at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the Indian president, the BBC reported. 

Modi's BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won the general election with 293 seats, a lower margin than predicted by exit polls.

The election saw a resurgence of India's opposition, which won 234 seats.

The 73-year-old is only the second Indian leader to win for a third consecutive term after the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Exit polls had projected outright victory for his BJP party which ruled India for a decade, but it lost its parliamentary majority in the election.