Kalyan Singh appointed BJP vice-president

A day after he rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh was Monday appointed the party's national vice president, a statement said.

Kalyan Singh, who was chief minister when the Babri mosque was demolished Dec 6, 1992, joined the party formally once again Sunday.

An independent MP from Etah, Uttar Pradesh, he resigned from his Lok Sabha seat Saturday.

Kalyan Singh had resigned from BJP in 1999 after a fallout with party leadership and formed Jankranti Party-Rashtrawadi which did not do very well, winning only four assembly seats in 2002 in Uttar Pradesh.

He came back to the BJP before 2004 Lok Sabha polls, but left the party again in 2009. He also had a brief stint with Samajwadi Party before coming back to BJP.

His Jankranti Party was merged with BJP in January 2013.