Taken aback by L K Advani's resignation from all party posts, BJP leaders today said they will persuade him to reconsider it and were hopeful that he will do so.
Advani's close associate Jaswant Singh maintained that the "worries and concerns" raised by Advani about the affairs of the party would be looked into.
"The issues he has raised are for the good of the party and the nation. I am hopeful a proper solution to these would come out. I am sure the party will be successful in dealing with these issues," Singh told reporters outside Advani's residence.
In Nagpur, former BJP President Nitin Gadkari said the party needs the guidance of a veteran leader like Advani at this juncture. "We will pray to him to reconsider and I am confident he will take back his resignation," Gadkari said.
Party MP Uma Bharti, who met Advani and Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj separately this morning, said that she and and Swaraj had a "good conversation" but refused to answer questions on Advani's resignation, saying she does not want to speak on that matter.
Asked whether her writing a letter to party President Rajnath Singh on not being able to attend the BJP conclave at Goa was any indication that she was upset, Bharti said she was not annoyed in any manner.
Gopinath Munde, Deputy Leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha also said that Advani should take back his resignation.
Echoing Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, BJP Vice President Uma Bharti said Advani cannot be separated from the party.
"Advani's presence is beneficial for the party, he will have to be with us," she said.
Bharti recalled that Advani was the first one to differentiate between secularism and pseudo-secularism, the first to take out a yatra and the first to say that Atal Bihari Vajpayee should be the prime ministerial candidate.
"Modi is like a son to Advani. I have said what Sushma has said that Advani cannot be separated from us," Bharti said.
Other party leaders who visited Advani include Murli Manohar Joshi, Gadkari, Ananth Kumar, Murlidhar Rao, Ramlal, Balbir Punj and Aarti Mehra.