Patna: In the political landscape of Bihar from 1990 to 2020, three figures stood out — Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan and Nitish Kumar. Yet, Sushil Kumar Modi emerged as an influential fourth force.
The late economist Shaibal Gupta once remarked, “Sushil Kumar Modi lacks the charisma of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav,” but he firmly believed Modi could have been an excellent chief minister for Bihar if given the opportunity.
Unfortunately for Modi, his prospects of becoming CM dimmed when his party chose Nitish Kumar as the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) chief ministerial candidate in the November 2005 assembly elections. “Well, it’s the order of the party and I have to accept it,” he told this correspondent.
Modi, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, died Monday evening. The 72-year-old was suffering from cancer. He died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at 9.45 pm, news agency PTI quoted hospital sources as saying.
Former Union minister Murli Manohar Joshi described Nitish and Modi as the ‘Ram-Lakshman’ duo of Bihar politics. However, Modi’s close association with Nitish ultimately led to his political sidelining after the 2020 assembly elections.
“The main thrust was to keep Lalu Prasad out of power and the BJP alone was not capable of achieving that goal. It was in the interest of Bihar that the alliance with Nitish Kumar worked,” Modi reflected after his removal.
The 72-year-old was among the last of the Vajpayee-era BJP leaders and was known for his gentlemanly conduct. A former Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak, Modi consistently avoided incendiary statements that could incite communal unrest.
Whenever communal tensions involving Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists flared up in Bihar, Nitish Kumar depended on him to de-escalate the situation.
For instance, in 2018, a communal flare-up occurred in Bhagalpur in which Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey’s son Arjit Shashwat was involved. Shashwat went underground as tensions between the BJP and the Janata Dal (United) increased. It was Modi who convinced him to surrender.
The leader was also pragmatic about Muslims and their relationship with the BJP. “I wonder why Muslims even join the BJP. On a couple of occasions, I have forced our few Muslim leaders off the mic when they started to speak against Islam,” he told this correspondent.
His wife, Jessica Modi, is a Christian from Kerala, and their 1985 wedding was a modest affair with just a glass of sharbat served.
He walked the talk in 2017 when Nitish Kumar was launching an anti-dowry campaign. At his son’s wedding, he issued an order that strictly prohibited gifts at the event, which was attended by who’s who in politics. Moreover, unlike other BJP leaders, he never promoted his son in politics.
His demise has led to a void that Bihar will miss. “Sushil’s death has led to a vacancy in the corner of Bihar politics, which will be very difficult to fill,” his long-time associate and political rival Shivanand Tiwari told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, CM Nitish Kumar was supposed to go to Varanasi to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s filing of nomination papers to contest in the constituency, but he cancelled his programme to mourn the death of one of his closest friends in the BJP.
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Lalu-Modi rivalry
The rivalry between Lalu Yadav and Sushil Modi dates back to the JP movement of the early 1970s when they were president and general secretary, respectively, of the Patna University Student’s Union.
Modi once accused Lalu of misappropriating funds meant for student agitation, which led to a confrontation with Jayaprakash Narayan (JP). “I complained to JP against Lalu alleging that he was raising money in the name of students’ agitation. Lalu was called by JP and Lalu admitted to drinking toddy but denied receiving donations,” Modi recalled.
Modi, as one of the petitioners in the Patna High Court in the fodder scam case, played a pivotal role in Lalu’s conviction. In 2017, six press conferences led by him on property that Lalu and his family had allegedly acquired illegally were enough to send Nitish — who had been leading a government in alliance with Lalu’s RJD for two years— back to the NDA fold.
Yet, despite their fierce political rivalry, the two maintained a personal touch. “When I became the deputy CM for the first time in 2005 and crossed Lalu ji’s home in my carcade, I got a call from him. ‘Humko chidhaa rahe ho (are you trying to irritate me),’ Lalu said,” Modi recounted to this correspondent.
Filling the void
As a three-time deputy chief minister of Bihar who also held finance portfolio, Modi was respected for his studious nature — earning the admiration of then Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. In 2011, Mukherjee made him the head of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) committee, where he was instrumental in the implementation of the tax reform.
Modi first became the deputy CM of Bihar after the 2005 assembly elections, when the NDA secured 145 out of 243 assembly seats.
As the BJP’s legislative party leader in the state, he was entrusted with all the ministerial portfolios designated for the party by CM Nitish Kumar. Modi, after discussions with the central leadership, delegated ministries to his BJP colleagues while retaining the finance and commercial tax departments for himself.
Notably, he initiated the practice of unveiling the economic survey prior to the budget presentation. He also pioneered pre-budget consultations with various stakeholders, including social organisations, industrialists, and traders, and introduced the gender and child budget.
Modi again became deputy CM following the 2010 assembly elections, where the NDA achieved a resounding victory, claiming 206 of the 243 seats.
However, his tenure was cut short in 2013 when Nitish Kumar severed ties with the BJP. Modi made a comeback as deputy CM for the third time in 2017 when Nitish realigned with the BJP.
The 2020 elections saw the NDA narrowly clinch victory, leading many to anticipate Modi’s reappointment as deputy chief minister. Yet, he was unexpectedly replaced by Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi.
After Nitish went with RJD again in 2022, he made a public statement saying that the JD(U)-BJP alliance would have remained intact had Sushil Modi been the deputy CM.
“Even when Modi ji and Nitish were politically opposed to each other, their personal relationship was intact,” JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha told ThePrint.
However, Modi’s most notable performance was as the leader of the Opposition.
Armed with evidence, he consistently challenged governments led by both Rabri Devi and Nitish Kumar in the legislature.
This correspondent has witnessed ministers handing over documents to him whenever their work was stuck at the CM level, urging him to raise it in the House.
On one of the occasions when this correspondent told Modi “We miss you as Leader of Opposition,” he joked: “You can’t be my well-wisher!”
Despite being a strong advocate for backward caste reservation, Modi never became a mass leader like Lalu and Nitish.
When he was removed as deputy CM, he said that it never occurred to him to quit the BJP. “I would like to have my body covered by a BJP flag,” he had remarked.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)