JOIN USNitish Kumar will 'miss' Sushil Modi: A look at their relationship
As the 14-member council of ministers headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar administered the oath of office at Raj Bhawan on Monday, former deputy CM and Nitish’s closest ally Sushil Modi sat in the audience and watched, no sign of any emotion betrayed him.
Sushil Modi, who has been Nitish Kumar’s deputy for 11 years, was not among the 14.
“He will be missed,” Nitish Kumar told Hindustan Times. Kumar also said that it was the BJP’s decision to not give the deputy chief minister’s post to Modi.
At one point of time, Kumar spotted his long-term deputy and asked him to come near him. The two walked together for some distance, much to the glee of the paparazzi, but their paths were different this time and they separated.
Kumar and Sushil Modi's pair as CM and Deputy CM since 2005, barring a 20-month gap when Kumar was in alliance with the RJD, has been the hallmark of the ruling coalition in the state.
The smooth sail of the successive JD(U)-BJP governments in the state has, to a large extent, been attributed to the good chemistry the two leaders shared.
However, this rapport was resented by a section of his Sushil Modi’s own partymen who would have otherwise confronted the JD(U) boss on some issues.
Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh had recently compared their partnership with the successful opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in cricket.
The proposed replacement of Sushil Kumar Modi called "Chhota Modi" in the political circles of Bihar, a jocular reference to the surname he shares with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being viewed as a precursor to the BJPs ambitious plans of aggressively expanding its own base in Bihar, where it has played second fiddle to the JD(U) boss so far.
Though there is no word from the BJP on the next assignment for Sushil Modi, there are talks in the political circles he has been dropped from the ministry as a part of the party’s plans to chart an independent course in Bihar, moving away from the perception of playing second fiddle to the JD(U) all these years in the NDA.
(With PTI inputs)