New Delhi, May 13 : A little over a month after he revealed he had cancer, veteran BJP leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi passed away at the AIIMS here on Monday. He was 72.

Sushil Modi, who was presently a Rajya Sabha member, had declined to contest the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on account of his health after he revealed the deadly disease he was suffering from in a post on X on April 3.

He said that he had been battling cancer for the last six months and it was time to come clean on it as he would not be able to do anything in the Lok Sabha elections about which he had already informed PM Narendra Modi.

PM Modi led the country in paying condolences to the departed leader. BJP President J.P. Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar's Leader of Opposition, whose first tenure as Deputy Chief Minister, alternated with Sushil Modi's, also expressed their grief.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I am deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Sushil Modi ji, my valuable colleague in the party and my friend for decades. He has played an invaluable role in the rise and success of the BJP in Bihar."

"Strongly opposing the Emergency, he made a name for himself in student politics. He was known as a very hardworking and sociable MLA. He had a deep understanding of the issues related to politics. He also did a lot of commendable work as an administrator. His active role in the passage of GST will always be remembered. My condolences are with his family and supporters in this hour of grief. Om Shanti!" the Prime Minister added.

Spanning 11 years between 2005 and 2020, Sushil Modi had served as the Deputy of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in two stints.

"Deeply saddened to hear the news of the untimely demise of respected Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, our guardian, struggling and hardworking leader," Tejashwi Yadav said in a post on X.

/IANS