Sushil Kumar Modi is the BJP candidate for the by-elections to the Rajya Sabha seat in Bihar.
Patna:
Bihar’s former Chief Deputy Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has been named the BJP candidate for the by-elections to a Rajya Sabha seat in Bihar.
Modi’s entry into the Rajya Sabha will be easy, as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a majority in Bihar’s legislative assembly.
The election will take place on December 14, if the rival alliance led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) decides to participate.
BJP’s Tarkishore Prasad was appointed Bihar’s chief deputy minister after the party recently won state elections and Nitish Kumar became chief minister for the fourth time.
The chief minister, who runs Janata Dal United (JDU), had said he would miss his former deputy. The BJP had also denied that Modi was upset by the shakeup.
Kumar and Modi’s long association transcended the ups and downs of ties between their parties. Modi intervened often when cracks emerged in the NDA in Bihar and was the main one in defending Kumar when he faced attacks from Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) or even BJP leaders.
The Rajya post Modi is seeking to be elected to became vacant following the death of Party founder Lok Janshakti and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
The LJP fought in the Bihar elections against the JDU, but not against the BJP.
When it was announced that Modi would no longer be the senior deputy minister, sources had said that he would be assigned a central assignment.
The NDA managed to return to power in Bihar in the recent elections for the 243-member assembly by winning 125 seats.
Lalu Yadav’s son, Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, put up a strong fight. His party emerged as the largest party, although the opposition alliance fell short of the majority mark.
With PTI inputs
.
