BJP leaders meet Shekhawat

NEW DELHI: Soon after his defeat in the Presidential election and resignation as Vice President, BJP veteran Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was tonight closeted with senior party leaders here.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh, senior leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi drove to his 6, Maulana Azad road residence as soon as Shekhawat returned from Rashtrapati Bhavan after submitting his resignation.

The BJP leaders were closetted with him for over an hour, apparently to discuss the poll debacle and future strategy.

Shekhawat, who contested as independent with NDA backing, lost to UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil with a big margin of over 3.06 lakh.

The election saw cross-voting and dissensions in the BJP, threatening the cohesiveness of the NDA.