The Bharatiya Janata Party's national council on Wednesday elected Lal Kishenchand Advani as party president.

The former deputy prime minister's name for the post was proposed by outgoing BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu and seconded by the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee made the formal announcement about Advani's election as the party president for three years to the applause from over 2,500 delegates at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi.

Also read: Ram temple inevitable, says Advani

"We will march forward under his leadership," he said as party leaders garlanded Advani, who took the reins of the party on October 18 after Naidu quit citing personal reasons.

Naidu said that in view of the prevailing situation in the country, the former deputy PM was the "better person" to lead the BJP.

"I am going as a humble worker and will come back to work as a soldier," he said.

Jaswant Singh described Advani as a "successful, efficient and experienced" leader and said he was the best person to head the main opposition party.