Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi died at the age of 72 on Monday. Modi, who had been diagnosed with cancer in April, had announced that he would not campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections due to his health condition. The mortal remains of the former Rajya Sabha MP will be brought to his residence in Patna's Rajendra Nagar area tomorrow (May 14) for the last rites.
Condolences poured in from various quarters, with several BJP leaders, including incumbent Bihar deputy chief ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, expressing grief over Modi's demise.
Who was Sushil Kumar Modi?
Sushil Modi's political journey began as a student activist at Patna University, where he served as the general secretary of the Students' Union in 1973.
Over his three-decade-long political career, Modi held various positions, including MLA, MLC, and member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He served as the deputy CM of Bihar from 2005 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2020.
Modi, elected as an MLA for the first time in 1990 from the Patna Central constituency, held the position of chief whip of the BJP legislature party. He also served as the leader of the opposition in the state assembly from 1996 to 2004.
In 2004, Modi was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur. He relinquished his Lok Sabha seat in 2005 to become a member of the legislative council and was appointed as the deputy chief minister alongside Nitish Kumar.
After his stint in state politics, Modi was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020, retiring earlier this year.
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