Kalyan Singh Political Career | MLA To CM To Governor — 10 Turning Points

Former UP CM Kalyan Singh died in a Lucknow hospital on Saturday at the age of 89. A look at the defining moments of his political career.

Former UP CM Kalyan Singh. (File Photo)

Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, who had been ailing for some time, died on Saturday night at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow at the age of 89.

He died due to sepsis and multi-organ failure, the hospital said in a statement. 

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders mourned his death. The PM said coming generations will remain forever grateful to him for his contributions towards India's "cultural regeneration".

Here is a look at 10 defining moments in Kalyan Singh’s eventful political career:  

1967: Kalyan Singh first became an MLA, from Atrauli as a Bharatiya Jana Sangh candidate. Since then, he won the assembly elections several times since.

1991: Kalyan Singh became the first BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state.

1992: The Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya and the campaign to build Ram Temple at the same spot gained momentum. Kalyan Singh resigned the same evening, on December 6.

1993: He contested the UP assembly elections from Atrauli and Kasganj, and won both. He became Leader of the Opposition as Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine formed the government under Mulayam Singh Yadav, though the BJP had won the largest number of seats. 

1997: Kalyan Singh became the UP CM again under a six-month rotation formula with the BSP. While the arrangement collapsed as BSP withdrew support soon, his government survived thanks to a group of disgruntled opposition MLAs even as a section of BJP MLAs was angry with him.

1999: BJP high command removed him from CM's post as opposition within the BJP grew. He was later expelled from the party over his remarks against the top leadership. 

2004: Kalyan Singh rejoined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

2009: He quit the BJP again, ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections, saying he felt humiliated.

2010: He floated the Jan Kranti Party, which was headed by his son Rajvir Singh, before it was merged with the BJP.

2014: Singh was appointed Governor of Rajasthan, and remained on the position until 2019, completing his five-year term, after he formally rejoined the BJP as a primary member.

2020: CBI court acquitted Kalyan Singh and 31 others accused of conspiracy in the Babri Masjid demolition case.