Advani returns to party headquarters

Bharatiya Janata Party chief Lal Kishenchand Advani on Saturday returned to the party's headquarters in New Delhi to tumultuous welcome.
 
Advani withdrew his resignation from the party chief's post on Saturday. He had resigned on Tuesday after being attacked by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its allied bodies over his remarks praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder.

He, however, asked party workers to withhold the celebrations till the party and it allies emerged victorious in the Bihar assembly elections, scheduled for September-November.

Advani's brief address to the party workers had no references to the four-day leadership crisis in the party triggered by his resignation.

Complete Coverage: The BJP Crisis

Firecrackers were burst and workers danced to the tune of drums beats as he arrived at the BJP office

at Ashoka Road.

Referring to his meeting with President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday when he led a delegation of BJP and Janata Dal-United MLAs to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in protest against the dissolution of the Bihar assembly, Advani said: "Leave aside what the President will do now and what the courts will decide [on the dissolution of the Bihar assembly]. The fact that I led 126 MLAs, along with letters of support from six others, of the dissolved assembly when I called on the President convinces me that the NDA will emerge victorious in Bihar."