Mr Advani says he will stick by his decision to quit
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Senior leaders of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have unanimously rejected party president LK Advani's offer to resign.
He offered to step down after a visit to Pakistan during which he called the nation's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah "secular", causing a furore in India.
Mr Jinnah is still widely blamed for the partition of India because of his drive for a Muslim homeland.
The BJP says Mr Advani will give the party a formal response on Thursday.
"The parliamentary board has rejected his resignation," senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi told the BBC after a meeting on Wednesday. The decision is said to have been unanimous.
Mr Advani had earlier said he would not take back his resignation despite being urged to do so by party colleagues, including the former Indian prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.
"I am thankful to my party colleagues, including Atal Behari Vajpayee, who wanted me to rescind my decision to resign from the post.
"My decision stays," the Press Trust of India quotes him as saying.
Pakistan's government has said it is "shocked and surprised" at his resignation move.
But Mr Advani has also been criticised by some BJP members as well as Hindu nationalists close to the BJP.
"His remarks in Pakistan were unnecessary and avoidable," former foreign minister Yashwant Sinha, is quoted as saying in press reports.
Anger
LK Advani's comments were made during his recent six-day visit to Pakistan, during which he spoke of Mr Jinnah's "forceful espousal of a secular state in which every citizen would be free to practice his own religion".
His comments angered Hindu nationalist groups back home, with one leader describing him as a traitor.
He was also criticised by the country's ruling Congress Party.
But Mr Advani stood by his comments.
"I have not said or done anything in Pakistan which I need to retract or review", Mr Advani wrote in a letter to a senior party member requesting the BJP to "relieve" him of the post of party leader.
The BBC's Nick Bryant in Delhi says that Mr Advani's trip to Pakistan was seen as an attempt to reposition himself politically, to cast off his hawk's clothing and recast himself as a moderate, more palatable to a wider electorate.
Hardliner
Mr Advani is considered one of the more hardline members of the Hindu nationalist BJP. He could still face criminal charges for his role in the destruction of a mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya by a mob in 1992.
His visit to Pakistan was seen as a success by Islamabad
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His statements in Pakistan, therefore, took many in Pakistan and India by surprise.
"Advani's image in Pakistan was as a hardliner and a hated man," Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid told the AFP news agency.
"But he proved otherwise and left a positive image. Why it caused problems within India is difficult to understand."
This is Mr Advani's third term as party president. He already acts as the leader of the opposition in parliament.
If you would like to send a comment about this story you can use the form below this selection of comments.
Indians by large are secular and tolerant. They will realise the comments made by Shri Advani in this light very soon. One must learn to respect the leaders of other countries particularly those who are held in high esteem.
Jayshree Jindal, Mumbai, India
India and Pakistan are different states, and have equal number of differences than similarities. Secularism in democratic India cannot be used literally in Pakistan, and the scope of the term is taken at length by media and hardliners. Pakistan is a much moderate Islamic state than the Middle East, with relatively more secularism in practise. He used the word wrongly to be picked up by world.
H Kulkarni, Australia
I'm not a big fan of LK Advani, and I believe his comments were a way of making himself shine in front of his hosts. I don't think he realised the greater impact he was having across India. However, the reaction he has received for at least showing like he is open-minded is atrocious. I was always proud of the fact that Indians were the most loving, open and tolerant people, I can't say that with such confidence anymore.
H Modha (20), UK
The hue and cry by various organisations, both the so called "secular" and the "communal", is totally unwarranted and shows a total lack of any sense of history.
It is a well established fact that Jinnah was committed to Hindu-Muslim unity and considered himself the bridge between the communities till the 1937 session of Indian National Congress. He tried hard to drive a compromise between the demands of the hardline Muslim league and what was acceptable to the Congress. But he failed because his own ego and ambition to lead the nation was thrashed in the face of the rise of Mahatma Gandhi as the new popular leader of the freedom struggle.
Shivi Krishna, India
Mr. Advani's remarks could not have come at a better time, when thinking in both India and Pakistan is geared towards bringing peace between the two countries.
A.O. Camara, The Gambia
It's ironic to read that Mr Advani has given such statement about Jinnah. It's no more than an excited mind of an politician, like others who are used to using the immediate environment to develop his future by hiding the truth.
Bidur, Nepal
LK Advani has become a wolf in sheep's clothing. He wants to be portrayed as a peaceful politician with no hidden agenda... he can never be trusted.
Adam, UK
I strongly believe that the founder of Pakistan was a moderate, secular leader who fought for Pakistan not because the South-Asian Muslims enjoyed their religion, Islam, but because the South-Asian Muslims were not enjoying their social & economical rights under the British subjugation which could later be turned out as Hindu subjugation if partition of India would not have taken place. Mr Advani has been true in expressing RIGHT things about this great Islamic republic's founder.
Asmar Ahmad Atif, Pakistan
It is a shame that Mr Advani enjoyed power for six years riding on the Ram temple issue even though he was "sad". He should have retired from public life on 6 December 1992. I wish to know whether he was happy on 14th August 1947 or the day as home minister of India, he allowed the release of Masood Azhar from jail.
Anshuman Lath, India
While the question of whether Jinnah was a secularist or not is an open question (I personally think he was a political opportunist), I do think that the RSS etc are making much ado about nothing. Pakistan and Bangladesh are separate countries now - if Advani said something to make his hosts feel better about their past, so be it - lets move on !!!
Navneet, India/UK
Mr. Advani proved to be very brave for what he said in Pakistan. Before his visit, he was considered to be an extremist by majority of Pakistanis. However, his visit has changed that perception significantly. It looks like Mr Advani is trying his best to further improve the friendship environment between both countries and his statements are linked to his good intentions.
The hardliners should learn the lesson, from the last 58 years of enmity between India and Pakistan, that it is by no means healthy for South East Asia. We must adopt a flexible and friendly attitude towards each other. Mr Advani is trying to do it and the moderates in India must come for his support.
Amir, Austria
India is considered secular and democratic but I am shocked with the type of democracy it is if a leader of India praises Mohammad Ali Jinnah and becomes the victim of ruthless criticism from political parties and press. If Indians cannot tolerate positive comments for the founder of Pakistan from their leader, how can peace be restored or confidence can be established between Pakistan and India.
Saqlain, Pakistan
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His remarks in Pakistan were unnecessary and avoidable
