A senior BJP leader and the former deputy chief minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi passed away on May 13 at AIIMS in New Delhi at the age of 72. Sushil Modi was a leader who exhibited virtuosity in completing his duties proving a major factor in the BJP’s journey to political prominence. Politicians across party lines mourned Sushil Kumar Modi’s death and called it an “irreparable loss” for Bihar politics. PM Narendra Modi expressed his condolences stating that Sushil Modi was key to the BJP’s rise and triumph in Bihar.
Regarded as one of the most prominent BJP leader in Bihar, Sushil Modi was one of the three renowned members of the JP Movement, along with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Lalu Prasad. Sushil Modi’s political career commenced when he was a student at Patna University, where in 1973 he was elected general secretary of the student union.
Following this, revolutionary Sushil Modi took part in JP Narayan’s Total Revolution movement. In 1977, he had the opportunity to enter politics when fifty-five young JP activists were elected to the Bihar legislature as MLAs. Nonetheless, Modi preferred sticking with the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad rather than pursuing a career in politics. Eventually, Atal Bihari Vajpayee succeeded in persuading Modi to enter politics. In 1990, he made his political debut when he was elected as an MLA from the Patna Central constituency. After eliminating Congress representative Akil Haider, he was also called the chief whip of the BJP legislative party.
He took over and defeated the RJD on his own when Yashwant Sinha resigned as Leader of the Opposition in 1996. He was one of five petitioners entailed in the fodder scandal that resulted in Lalu Prasad’s conviction. He became a member of the Lok Sabha by representing Bhagalpur in 2004. With more than thirty years of experience, a veteran politician has served in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and as an MLA and MLC. He was Bihar’s deputy chief minister twice, from 2005 to 2013, then again from 2017 to 2020.
Furthermore, strong relationships with BJP ally and JD (U) chairman Nitish Kumar had been fostered by Sushil Modi, and he frequently received praise for initiating the state’s economic recovery.
It had been eight months since the veteran leader was diagnosed with cancer. Sushil Modi revealed his cancer diagnosis on April 3, this year, requesting BJP to discharge him from all Lok Sabha election-related duties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on social platform X, stating that PM The Prime Minister noted in a post on X that “by strongly opposing the emergency, he made a name for himself in student politics”. The Prime Minister expressed his condolences stating that Sushil Modi was key to the BJP’s rise and triumph in Bihar.
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