No Sushil Modi in RS: why the BJP's Bihar face wants to stay in Patna

The man being elevated instead

Modi, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, was being considered for Rajya Sabha membership by the party after its defeat in the state Assembly polls last year. Many even went to the extent of congratulating him in advance. But the list finalised by the party has no mention of him.

Instead, senior leader and former state BJP president Gopal Narayan Singh has been picked to be sent to the upper house. He is one of the top Rajput faces in the Bihar BJP.

Dropping Modi's name from the list is being interpreted as a case of 'no punishment, but no reward either', for the poll defeat.

Another theory is that the BJP has projected a Thakur face to influence the Rajput voters in the neighbouring eastern Uttar Pradesh, which goes to the polls in a few months.

But a party source rebutted this claim, saying: "There are already two Rajput faces in 'Poorvanchal' - Rajnath Singh and Yogi Adityanath. Both are MPs and tall leaders from the state. Why the BJP will bring one more Rajput for this reason, and that too, from a neighbouring state?"

Lead role in Patna

Highly-placed sources say Modi's own wish was to remain in the state, rather than going for a 'personal gain' like a Rajya Sabha seat.

"He has multiple reasons to refuse the seat," says a source. "If he goes to the Rajya Sabha, he would go from being the leader of the party in the state to fighting for survival amongst the party's big faces in the capital."

For the last seven months since Nitish Kumar was sworn-in for his third term in office, Modi has been as the main face of the Opposition in Bihar.

He has been protesting against the state government, and raising issues in the media prominently. He has no interest in losing that position. He has very few enemies in the state; even the CM is his friend. No wonder, then, that he's happier in Patna than he would be in Delhi.

The Rajendra Singh factor

Another factor on Modi's mind was Rajendra Singh, a Rajput leader who has deep roots within the RSS and was parachuted into the state during the Assembly elections.

Singh had contested from Dinara Assembly seat in Rohtas district, and was touted as a dark horse for the Chief Minister's chair, if the party had won the elections.

Though he lost the polls, Singh remains a threat in Modi's eyes, and it's important for him to keep Singh cornered. Now, with another Rajput face from the state being sent to the Rajya Sabha, the possibilities of Singh rising to take control of the party have been reduced.

It is expected that an organisational reshuffle now would give an opportunity to a Brahmin or Bhumihar leader, in order to keep the caste balance intact within the organisation.

Edited by Shreyas Sharma

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