Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi passed away on May 13 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary confirmed.
Sushil Kumar Modi had earlier in April revealed that he was battling cancer and would not campaign in the general elections.
Here is a timeline on his political career:
1952: Born on January 5, 1952 to Moti Lal Modi and Ratna Devi
1973: Attended Patna Science College and graduated with B.Sc (Hons) Botany. He joined M.Sc (Botany) but discontinued in between. He became the general-secretary of Patna University Students’ Union. Lalu Prasad Yadav was the president of the union at that time.
Also read: Sushil Kumar Modi death reactions Live
1974: Sushil Kumar Modi spearheaded the famous Bihar Student’s Movement. He was arrested five times during the JP movement and the Emergency.
1975: During Emergency, Sushil Kumar Modi was arrested on June 30 and remained in jail for 19 months continuously.
1977-1986: Sushil Kumar Modi held various leadership positions in the ABVP. During his tenure at ABVP he led a movement agaisnt the declaration of Urdu as the second language of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
1986: Sushil Kumar Modi married Jessie George and had two sons, Utkarsh Tathagat and Akshay Amritanshu.
1990: Sushil Kumar Modi joined active politics and successfully contested from Patna Central Assembly. He was made the chief whip of the BJP Bihar Legislature Party. He was re-elected from the same constituency.
1996-2004: Sushil Kumar Modi was the leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly. He filed a PIL in the Patna High Court against Lalu Prasad Yadav and the case later came to be known as the fodder scam.
2000: Sushil Kumar Modi was the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in a short-lived Nitish Kumar government. He supported the formation of Jharkhand state.
2004: Sushil Kumar Modi became a member of Lok Sabha representing the Bhagalpur constituency.
2005: NDA came to power and Sushil Kumar Modi elected the leader of Bihar BJP legislature party. He resigned from Lok Sabha and took over as deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. He held the Finance portfolio along with a number of other departments.
2010: Sushil Kumar Modi continued to be Deputy Chief Minister after NDA victory in the elctions.
2011: In July 2011, Sushil Kumar Modi was elected Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST (Goods and Services Tax) in place of the former West Bengal Finance Minister, Asim Dasgupta, who had to bow out following his defeat in the Assembly elections.
2017: Sushil Kumar Modi was the main player behind the fall of JD(U)-RJD grand alliance government in Bihar.
2020: Sushil Kumar Modi was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar to fill the vacant seat after the demise of Ram Vilas Paswan. He became one of the leaders who became a member of the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and both houses of legislature.
April 2024: Sushil Kumar Modi revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer six months ago and would not take part in the BJP Lok Sabha poll campaign for the general elections in 2024.
May 13, 2024: Sushil Kumar Modi passed away at the age of 72 due to cancer, according to the Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
(Source: The Hindu Archives and Agencies)
