BJP MP Sushil Modi on Wednesday said he won't be able to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as he has been "fighting with cancer for the past six months". The BJP leader said he even informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the development.

In a tweet in Hindi, the 72-year-old former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar also said he made the announcement of his diagnosis since he felt that "the time had come to tell people".

The Rajya Sabha MP also said that he would always remain grateful to the country, Bihar and the party.

Reacting to Sushil Modi's announcement, BJP leader and party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said he was "deeply pained".

"I wish him speedy recovery," he added.

Sushil Modi served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar from July 2017 to November 2020.

In December 2020, he was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar to fill the vacant seat after Lok Janshakti Party supremo Ram Vilas Paswan died in October 2020 due to prolonged illness.

Source: India Today