The Bihar election results came nearly a week ago and the picture of who will be in the state cabinet is now clearing up little by little. By all estimates, Nitish Kumar is expected to be crowned as the Chief Minister for the fourth time, even though the popular sentiment is against him. Unlike Shiv Sena, BJP is putting its money where its mouth was throughout the election campaign and barring any future mishappenings, it looks certain that Nitish would carry his bat through this tenure as well. However, BJP is simultaneously preparing for a post-Nitish era and the biggest step it has taken in this direction is by ejecting Nitish Kumar’s trusted lieutenant–Sushil Kumar Modi from the state.
On Sunday, BJP in a rather sudden manner dropped Sushil Modi as leader of its legislature group in Patna. Instead, the four-term Katihar MLA Tarkishore Prasad was named the legislature party leader, in an indication that he could be the deputy chief minister in the new NDA government. Renu Devi, another known EBC woman face and three-time MLA from Bettiah, could be made the second deputy chief minister.
A defeatist Sushil Modi took to Twitter to put up a brave face and said that “none could take away my position as a party worker”—hinting that he was indeed being denied another crack at the Deputy Chief Minister seat.
भाजपा एवं संघ परिवार ने मुझे ४० वर्षों के राजनीतिक जीवन में इतना दिया की शायद किसी दूसरे को नहीं मिला होगा।आगे भी जो ज़िम्मेवारी मिलेगी उसका निर्वहन करूँगा।कार्यकर्ता का पद तो कोई छीन नहीं सकता।
— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) November 15, 2020
TFI, in one of its op-eds dated 8 June 2020, had iterated: “If BJP wishes to win the state, it must sack Sushil Kumar, and sack him now. Sushil Kumar has done immense damage to BJP’s cause in the state. He is the top leader of BJP in the state since the last one and a half-decade and due to him, the second rung of BJP has not emerged so far in the state.”
Well, the sacking didn’t come at the time of elections but it has promptly come after the results. The party high-command is all set to send Sushil Modi into a VRS by dispatching him to New Delhi.
Sushil Modi did a lot for the BJP as the leader of the legislature group since 1990 but once he and Nitish Kumar joined hands in 2005, the duo started to remain aloof of the central leadership. And what compounded the problems was the fact that Sushil Modi tried to sweep Nitish Kumar’s one blunder after another by being the last wall of defence.
Be it the pathetic handling of the migrant crisis or making divisive remarks on the passing of CAB or the last year’s floods or the baby deaths–Sushil Kumar Modi ensured that Nitish Kumar held onto his fort from the wrath of BJP high command.
And it wasn’t just his undying fidelity to Nitish Kumar that BJP leaders started casting aspersions over Sushil Modi’s true allegiances but it was also his uncanny ability to not let the BJP leaders—both old horses, and the young turks to rise through the ranks.
His duty towards the coalition aside, Sushil Kumar Modi was also given the responsibility to create an independent identity of BJP in the state that was devoid of any influence of Nitish Kumar. However, with no big CM prospect in place due to Sushil Modi’s raggedy and stubborn orthodox approach, BJP went with the safe option of Nitish Kumar yet again.
One of the reasons for Modi’s demotion and Tarkishore Prasad’s elevation in the party is the proximity of Katihar, which shares a border with West Bengal. BJP spearheaded by Union Home Minister Amit Shah is looking the breach the fortress of Mamata Banerjee in some six months from now and Prasad could be his X-factor. Modi inadvertently would have been dead weight for the Bengal elections and BJP needs all its resources in place if it wants to win Bengal.
Sushil Kumar was BJP’s face in the previous alliance government, and therefore, his stand on any socio-political issue became the official stance of BJP. Hence, by blindly supporting Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi repeatedly put BJP on the back foot on several contentious issues. But with Modi’s ouster—the BJP state unit can have the breathing space to metamorphose into a cohesive and a much more hierarchical organisation where the young blood can rise through the ranks. Good riddance for the NDA indeed.
