NEW DELHI, 9 June 2005 — Rallying behind L.K. Advani, the BJP Parliamentary Board yesterday rejected his resignation as party president and asked him to continue to lead it.

“The meeting unequivocally rejected the resignation of L.K. Advani. The meeting appealed to Advani to continue to lead the party, which he has so ably led in the past,” said a resolution passed at the meeting of the Board and central office bearers.

Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and other top BJP brass attended the meeting. Later all the leaders barring Vajpayee and M.M. Joshi drove straight to Advani’s residence in a bid to persuade him to withdraw the resolution.

“Advani represents the best values in public life. He has scholarly articulated the debate on nationalism in the past few decades with rationality, logic and with powerful idiom. His contribution to our ideology is unparalleled,” the resolution said.

Interestingly, the resolution made no reference to Advani’s controversial remarks on Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah or his approval of the “two-nation” theory.

The resolution said the party “benefited enormously” from his leadership and needed his leadership in future also.

In an apparent reference to VHP firebrand leader Praveen Togadia, the party strongly condemned the use of “highly objectionable language by some VHP leaders about Advani”.

“These statements have lowered the level of public discourse. Such outbursts, indecent protests and abusive language adversely affects the strength of the nationalist movement in the country.

These statements also go against the very ethos of Hinduism,” the resolution said.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as a dark horse to replace Advani. A longtime favorite with the RSS, Modi could get its all-important stamp of approval for the job — even Bombay bookies feel he’s the favorite. Joshi, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj are also in the race.

Advani, who remained as leader of the opposition in Parliament, said earlier yesterday he stood by his decision despite pressure from BJP leaders to stay in the party post too.

“I took the decision after giving it a lot of thought. The question of withdrawing it does not arise,” he told reporters.

“Many leaders have asked me to reconsider ... but I see no change in the reasons that led me to resign.”

One reason that led Advani to unexpectedly resign as BJP chief was a decision by party general secretaries not to release his Karachi address to the press despite his request.

Sources close to the party said Advani had directed that the speech he made at Karachi, in which he praised Jinnah be distributed to the media in India.

However, the party general secretaries, who had sensed the adverse reactions back home, declined to oblige. “A hurt Advani immediately decided to resign from his post,” said a source close to Advani.

Analysts say Advani’s resignation would further hurt the BJP, already struggling for direction since losing national elections a year ago, as it has no one to match his experience and ability. They said Advani — once considered a hard-liner — had stood up to Hindu radicals in his efforts to steer the party on to a moderate path.

“What is at stake in this contest is the very soul of the BJP,” the Indian Express newspaper said in an editorial.