Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer six months ago, and would not take part in the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll campaign.

Modi, 72, was named by the BJP as one of its star campaigners for the state and a member of its election manifesto committee.

“I have been battling cancer for the last six months. Now, I feel that the time has come to inform people about it. I will not be able to do anything for the Lok Sabha elections,” he posted on X.

“I have told everything to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I will always remain grateful and dedicated to the country, Bihar and the party,” he added.

During his political career spanning over three decades, Modi was an MLA, an MLC, a member of Lok Sabha, and a Rajya Sabha MP. He was the deputy Chief Minister of the state from 2005 to 2013, and from 2017 to 2020.

He joined students’ politics while studying at Patna University, and became the general secretary of its students’ union in 1973. He became an MLA for the first time in 1990 from the Patna Central constituency and was made the chief whip of the BJP legislature party.

From 1996 to 2004, he was the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. He became a member of Lok Sabha in 2004 from Bhagalpur.

He gave up his Lok Sabha membership in 2005 and became a member of the legislative council, following which he was made the deputy chief minister with Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020, and retired earlier this year.