Nitish Kumar's old friend Sushil Modi warns 'won't get respect from others like BJP gave'

Shortly after the political drama that unfolded in Bihar, where Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar to break away from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar under Nitish himself, has stated that the respect JD(U) got from the BJP, they will not get from any other party.

Speaking to the media on August 9, Sushil Modi said, "It's a white lie that RCP Singh was made a minister on the recommendation of the BJP against Nitish Kumar's will. Be it Atal ji's government or Modi ji's government, JD(U) has always been respected by the BJP. It's impossible that they'll get the same respect elsewhere."

While bashing allegations of the BJP trying to 'break' the JD(U), the BJP leader added," We needed around 40 MLAs to form the government, if we broke their party, we wouldn't have been successful in forming a government."

Sushil Modi - BJP's man in Nitish Kumar's camp

Sushil Modi and Nitish Kumar have an interesting relationship that dates back many years. Sushil Modi served as Nitish Kumar’s deputy CM for a total of over 11 years, 7 years out which was in the first spell from 2005 to 2013.

According to sources, for the longest time, within the political circles of Bihar, the duo was referred to as the 'Ram-Lakshman' ki jodi. 

With his relentless criticism against RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family for four months over alleged corruption, Sushil Modi was a key factor in the demise of the JDU-RJD Grand Alliance government in Bihar in 2017.

Sushil Modi then served another 3 years and 112 days as the Deputy CM under CM Nitish Kumar. However, in December 2020, he was elected without opposition to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, making way for Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi as the Dy CM.

As early as May 2022, the BJP MP had denied the possibility of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar joining hands with RJD again, however upon hearing the news of Nitish Kumar taking the oath as the CM of Bihar tomorrow under the Mahagathbandhan alliance, Sushil Modi said, "They think they can defeat PM Narendra Modi, today PM Modi is loved by all more than ever before, he will continue to be the PM and the BJP will come back to power in Bihar with a thumping majority."

(With inputs from ANI)