Friday, January 6 2006 09:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: In an apparent bid to buy peace with his arch rival Kalyan Singh, new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh yesterday (Jan 05, 2006) heaped lavish praise on him, describing him as the 'senior most leader' in Uttar Pradesh whose tenure as Chief Minister was 'unparalleled'.

He also ruled out any alliance with either the Bahujan Samaj Party or the Samajwadi Party in any future election.

"He (Singh) is the senior most leader. As Chief Minister of the state, his performance was unparalleled," he said in an informal chat with reporters here.

With the Thakur leader taking charge at the Centre, Kalyan Singh, an OBC leader, is expected to be given a 'free hand' in the state and projected as the party's Chief Ministerial candidate.

Terming the Congress presence in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, which has 85 Lok Sabha seats at stake, as 'politically insignificant', he asserted that the party's position in the state was strong and not as weak as was widely perceived.

Asked about any future political alliance in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "We will have alliance only with NDA allies. We will have no alliance with either BSP or SP".

Singh was considered to be one of the strong opponents to alliance with BSP in the past.