Patna: Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi died on Monday at AIIMS Delhi after battling cancer. He was 72. Sushil Modi, known as Chanakya of Bihar BJP, worked to bring the party from the floor to the pedestal. He was a full time politician and had no other occupation apart from politics.
A Dedicated BJP Worker: Sushil Modi remained with BJP all his life. Despite the ups and downs in his political career, he never thought of changing parties and remained a true soldier of the party. Sushil Modi had the honor of becoming a member of all four houses.
Sushil Modi was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. During his student days, he was active in the right wing students' association and was also associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Sushil Modi remained in jail for 10 days during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. During his stay in jail, he was kept in prisoner wards of Bankipur, Phulwari, Buxar, Hazaribagh, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and Patna Medical College Hospital.
Distinction of Becoming a Member of all Four Houses: Sushil Modi was elected as a member of Bihar Assembly thrice. He was elected MLA for the first time from Patna Central in 1990. Later, he became MLA in 1995 and 2000 also. For the first time in 2004 he was elected as Lok Sabha member from Bhagalpur. He remained a member of the Legislative Council continuously. He was sent to Rajya Sabha in 2020. Sushil Modi was the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar from 2005 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2020.
Sushil Modi was also the state president of BJP and in 1990, Bharatiya Janata Party even made him the Chief Secretary of Bihar Legislative Party. From 1996 to 2004, he was the leader of the opposition in the assembly. Sushil Modi ran the government as efficiently as he managed the organization. He had better coordination with Nitish Kumar in the NDA coalition in Bihar.
Gamechanger in 2017: In 2015, Nitish Kumar left the NDA and became a part of the Grand Alliance. In 2017 Sushil Modi played the role of game changer and he played the role of 'Chanakya' behind the fall of JDU, RJD Grand Alliance government. The Grand Alliance government formed in 2017 could not last even for two years with many attributing the fall of the grand coalition to the role played by Sushil Modi.
It is said that Sushil Modi started bringing down the Lalu family on corruption charges. He allegedly made a phased disclosure over 4 months regarding several benami properties and irregular Vidya transactions to corner the Lalu family. Subsequently, Nitish Kumar left the Grand Alliance and again became a part of NDA.
In the year 2013, BJP had declared the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its candidate for Prime Minister and on the basis of this, the alliance which had been going on since 1996 was broken in Bihar. JDU was the largest party with 117 members. JDU won the trust vote with the support of four independent Congress MLAs and one HAM MLA. Nitish Kumar had dismissed all the BJP ministers. But Sushil Modi stood strong even in the most adverse of circumstances at the time.
Meanwhile politicians from across party lines expressed grief over the death of Sushil Kumar Modi.
Expressing deep grief over the demise of former Deputy CM Sushil Modi, RJD President Lalu Yadav remembered the days of student politics with Modi. Calling him his brother and friend, he said that Sushil Kumar Modi was a fighting, dedicated, social and political person. “Received the sad news of the demise of our friend brother Sushil Modi from the time of Patna University Students Union, i.e. for the last 51-52 years. He was a combative, dedicated social and political person. May God grant eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to the family to bear the loss,” Lalu wrote in a post on X. Sushil Kumar Modi's political career started from student politics in 1971 when he was elected a member of the 5-member cabinet of Patna University Association. In 1973, he was elected General Secretary of Patna University Students Union. Lalu Yadav was elected President of Patna University Association and Ravi Shankar Prasad was elected Joint Secretary.
Union Minister of State Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who was an associate of Modi from the JP movement of 1974, said, ''Sushil Kumar Modi was not only my friend but my brother, his untimely demise has deeply hurt my heart.''
"Sushil Modi was not only a friend but a brother, who used to give advice without feeling bad even when scolded. I never thought that I would have to see such tragic days. May God give strength to his family,"Ashwini Choubey said in a statement.
