At a function held at his Prithviraj Road residence, Advani wiped his tears as senior leaders recalled his contributions to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Taking a break from his cross-country Jan Chetna Yatra, veteran BJP leader LK Advani became emotional as party colleagues lavishly praised him on his 84th birthday here Tuesday, with Rajnath Singh saying he was the party's "natural choice" for the prime minister's post.
At a function held at his Prithviraj Road residence, Advani wiped his tears as senior leaders recalled his contributions to the Bharatiya Janata Party. A book, Advani - Man and his Thoughts, was released at the event.
Former party president Rajnath Singh said Advani was the "natural choice" for the post of prime minister, reigniting a debate that refuses to die down within the BJP.
Several BJP leaders including Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand attended the event.
A former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Rajnath Singh said he felt pained to see reports that Advani was also in the reckoning for the post of prime minister.
“Will a person of Advani's stature ever present his claim for prime ministership? He is a natural choice for the post,” he said, in apparent reference to colleagues Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh said former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told him ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha election that if anybody was to be projected as the BJP prime ministerial candidate, it had to be Advani.
Advani said he was at times moved to tears even by praise heaped on him.
He recalled his long association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He said he became a Swayamsevak at age 14 and that he considered it his "good fortune".
Moved by the eulogies, Advani said party leaders had praised him as if he was the "head of the family".
Advani said he was able to bear the exertion of over a month-long yatra as he had undergone rigorous training as a RSS worker.
Advani was born on Nov 8, 1927 and grew up in pre-partition Sindh.
His yatra will proceed from Jodhpur in Rajasthan Wednesday and end here Nov 20. His yatra began Oct 11 and is to cover 23 states.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}