Senior BJP leader Sushil Modi died at Delhi’s All-India Institute of Medical Sciences on Monday evening. The 72-year-old was battling cancer and was admitted in the intensive care unit of AIIMS for the last one month.
The veteran leader, once the BJP’s best-known face in Bihar, had opted out of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on account of his health. He had announced it on social media with a post on X on April 3.
“I have been battling cancer for the last six months. Now I feel that the time has come to tell people. I will not be able to do anything in the Lok Sabha elections. I have told everything to the PM. Always grateful and always dedicated to the country, Bihar and the party,” his post read.
His absence is expected to be felt the most in Bihar, where he had considerable influence on the party, built over three decades. Over 11 years between 2005 and 2020, in two stints, he served as the deputy chief minister when Nitish Kumar was Bihar Chief Minister.
Tributes pour in
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “saddened by” the death of his “valuable colleague in the party and my friend for decades, Sushil Modi”. PM Modi credited him for the “rise and success of BJP in Bihar”.
Bihar has lost a great pioneer of politics forever, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “His politics was dedicated to the interests of the poor and the backward. The void that has emerged in Bihar politics due to his demise cannot be filled for a long time,” he posted on X.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condoled the death of his former deputy expressing “deep sorrow”. “He worked with me for a long time as deputy chief minister. I had a personal relationship with him. I have lost a true friend and a hard-working politician today,” the chief minister said in a statement.
Leader of the Opposition in Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav remembered the former deputy chief minister of Bihar as a “struggling and hardworking leader”.
Tejashwi Yadav’s father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav condoled Sushil Kumar Modi’s death. “My friend from the time of Patna University Students Union, i.e. for the last 51-52 years,” he posted on X.
BJP chief J P Nadda and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid their respects. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid her tributes.
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