New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) Condoling the demise of senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh, Union minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said he was a very popular chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who left an indelible mark on politics.

Describing Kalyan Singh as a stalwart of Indian politics, the defence minister said with his demise, he has has lost his elder brother and a companion.

Also Read | West Bengal | Members of Transgender Community Received First Dose of #COVID19 Vaccine at … – Latest Tweet by ANI.

"Kalyan Singh's death is a great loss for Indian politics and a very sad moment for me," he said in a series of tweets.

Rajnath Singh, who had succeeded Kalyan Singh as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said the latter was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and played an important role in the Ram temple movement.

Also Read | Indian Railways Cancels 19 Trains Due to Farmers' Protest in Punjab.

Kalyan Singh, who was ailing for some time, breathed his last at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow on Saturday night.

He was 89.

Kalyan Singh was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister when the Babri mosque was demolished by a mob in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.

He later also served as the governor of Rajasthan.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)