New Delhi, Jan. 24: Amit Shah was today "unanimously" re-elected BJP president amid razzle-dazzle fit for a coronation but the claim of unanimity was tested by the absence of veterans L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi from the event.

Shah's second coming had been preceded by doubts ever since the BJP was routed in Bihar late last year.

While Shah had kept a measured distance from the equally disastrous Delhi elections in early 2015, he had micro-managed the Bihar polls with handpicked aides.

The drubbing had opened a can of complaints against Shah - from his alleged inaccessibility to his high-handedness and "unilateralism" -that had been repressed as long as the going was good.

Speculation was rife that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was reluctant to endorse a second term for him.

Eventually, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who trusts Shah implicitly, had his way. But Shah's second innings would come with "checks and balances" on his way of functioning, party sources insisted.

One such "balance", they suggested, would be that he would have to hold consultations with the margdarshaks (guides), who include Advani and Joshi. But the BJP's apparent cold shoulder to the veterans today suggested that Shah was unlikely to change substantively.

A source close to Advani claimed he had not been invited. "Neither he nor his office was informed there was a function on this date, at this time and at this place. How could he show up?" the source asked.

However, a BJP official involved in the arrangements insisted that no invites are ever sent out for a presidential election and that Advani, who headed the party thrice, ought to have known the norm.

Shah turned up at Advani's home tonight to administer the usual emollient of seeking "blessings". There was no word if or when he would visit Joshi.

The other members of the margdarshak mandal are the bedridden Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh.

Modi was away in Chandigarh to receive French President Francois Hollande. So, Rajnath - who at 64 is "young" by the standards of Indian politics - officiated as Shah's chief margdarshak and greeted him with a garland after his election.

The BJP took care to broadcast that those who matter in the current hierarchy, regardless of their personal equations with Modi and Shah, were present or had signed Shah's nomination papers.

Its spokespersons said that foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, away in Bahrain, had made sure to affix her signature a couple of days ago.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley's flight from Switzerland was delayed and he could not make it to Shah's function.

"But Jaitleyji is an integral part of the topmost apparatus, so his physical presence hardly matters," a source said.

All the BJP chief ministers showed up barring Haryana's Manohar Lal Khattar, who had to be in Chandigarh to receive Hollande.

Among those who proposed Shah's candidature were senior ministers including Modi, chief ministers, regional satraps, state presidents, MPs and MLAs. Neither Advani nor Joshi was approached to become a proposer.

Shah's re-election witnessed several firsts in the party.

As children in saffron dhoti-kurtas blew on conch shells and a brass band played, Shah stood with party office-bearers while other BJP members lined up to offer him garlands, bouquets, swords and shawls. Those who couldn't later met him in his office. The BJP had seen nothing like this before.

Another first was a CV listing Shah's "achievements" and virtues that the party circulated.

One was his ability to "lead by example" by avoiding the use of private aircraft. However, Shah's predecessors too rarely flew on private planes.

Another was Shah's encouragement of team members to spend nights at outstation places and establish a direct rapport with workers and supporters. It was something former party president and long-time Sangh loyalist Kushabhau Thakre too was known for.

The CV said Shah travelled an average 495km daily and had covered 2,65,600km across the country since taking over as BJP president in July 2014.

Shah starts his second innings with a rally in Howrah on Monday.

As Modi tweeted that the "party will scale newer heights under his (Shah's) leadership", sources said his first challenge would be to wrest Assam from the Congress before turning to Uttar Pradesh.