RJD leader who criticised Rahul Gandhi has a theory why Sushil Modi isn’t Dy CM

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Shivanand Tiwari on Tuesday said that Sushil Kumar Modi was “cut off” from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) because he was not letting other leaders rise and was hungry for media attention.

“Sushil Modi’s role had become less of BJP’s and more of Nitish Kumar’s associate. I think that’s why BJP cut him off this time. He wasn’t allowing other BJP leaders to rise. He used to speak on all topics daily and couldn’t live without appearing in newspaper/TV,” Tiwari told news agency ANI.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Modi was dropped from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet and replaced as deputy chief minister by his party, after having served at the post since 2005. Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi have been chosen as the deputy CMs for the state.

“I have no animosity with him, he is like my younger brother. But his personality used to reflect a lack of depth. I think this is the reason BJP leadership did not give him a post in the state cabinet this time,” Shivanand Tiwari added.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader had set up a huge controversy this week when he appeared to blame the Congress for the grand alliance’s defeat in the just-concluded Bihar elections. Tiwari had targeted Rahul Gandhi who he had claimed had adopted a hands-off approach and addressed just three public meetings in the run-up to the election. His party later distanced itself from the criticism of the Congress, the RJD’s alliance partner for many years, insisting that Tiwari had expressed a personal view, which did not reflect the party’s assessment.

NDA secured a majority in the election to the 243-member Bihar Assembly by winning 125 seats out of which BJP won 74 seats and the JD(U) won 43 seats. On Monday, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda, took oath as the chief minister for the fourth consecutive term.