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Former Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi dies at 72. Who was he?
In April, Sushil Modi revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer and would not take part in the party's campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi died on Monday after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 72 years old.
In April, Modi revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer six months ago, and would not take part in the party's campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.
Modi, 72, was named by the BJP as one of its star campaigners for the state and a member of its election manifesto committee.
“I have been battling cancer for the last six months. Now, I feel that the time has come to inform people about it. I will not be able to do anything for the Lok Sabha elections,” he posted on X.
“I have told everything to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I will always remain grateful and dedicated to the country, Bihar and the party,” he wrote.
In a political career spanning over three decades, Modi was an MLA, an MLC, a member of Lok Sabha, and a Rajya Sabha MP. He was the deputy chief minister of Bihar twice – from 2005 to 2013, and from 2017 to 2020.
Modi's career in politics began during his student days at Patna University. He became the general secretary of its students’ union in 1973.
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He became an MLA for the first time in 1990 from the Patna Central constituency and was made the chief whip of the BJP legislature party. From 1996 to 2004, he was the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. He became a member of Lok Sabha in 2004 from Bhagalpur.
In 2005, he gave up his Lok Sabha membership and became a member of the legislative council, following which he was made the deputy chief minister with Nitish Kumar as the CM.
Sushil Modi was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020, and retired earlier this year.
