New Delhi/IBNS: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Sushil Modi, died at Delhi's All-India Institute of Medical Sciences on Monday evening after battling cancer for a long time. He was 72.

Sushil Modi was admitted to the intensive care unit of AIIMS for the last month.

He had opted out of the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections also on account of his health.

On April 3, he announced it on social media with a post on X.

"I have been battling cancer for the last 6 months. Now I feel that the time has come to tell people. I will not be able to do anything in the Lok Sabha elections. I have told everything to the PM. Always grateful and always dedicated to the country, Bihar and the party," his post read.

His absence was expected to be felt the most in Bihar, where he had considerable influence on the party, built over three decades.

Over 11 years between 2005 and 2020, he had served as the Deputy of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah condoled Sushil Modi's death and remembered him as a 'great pioneer of politics forever.'

"I am saddened by the news of the demise of our senior leader Sushil Kumar Modi ji. Today Bihar has lost a great pioneer of politics forever. From ABVP to BJP, Sushil ji has adorned many important positions in the organization and government. His politics was dedicated to the interests of the poor and the backward. The void that has emerged in Bihar politics due to his demise cannot be filled for a long time. In this hour of grief, the entire BJP stands with his bereaved family. May God give a place to the departed soul in his lotus feet. Om Shanti Shanti," he wrote on X.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also posted his condolences on X. "Heartfelt tribute to our dear friend, former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and former Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sushil Kumar Modi ji on his demise," his post read.