Ram Vilas Paswan Biography: Birth, Death, Family and Political Career

Union Minister and founder of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Ram Vilas Paswan passed away at the age of 74. His son Chirag Paswan informed about his demise by posting a childhood picture with him on twitter. He recently underwent heart surgery at Delhi's Fortis hospital. Prime Minister Modi, Rahul Gandhi and others expressed grief over his sudden demise and paid condolences to his family. 

पापा....अब आप इस दुनिया में नहीं हैं लेकिन मुझे पता है आप जहां भी हैं हमेशा मेरे साथ हैं।
Miss you Papa... pic.twitter.com/Qc9wF6Jl6Z

— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) October 8, 2020

Ram Vilas Paswan: Birth, Early Life and Family

Ram Vilas Paswan was born on July 5, 1946, in Khagaria, Bihar, British India (present-day Bihar, India) in a Dalit family to Jamun Paswan and Siya Devi. He attended Kosi College, Khagaria and graduated as a  Bachelor of Laws. He then took admission at Patna University and holds a Master of Arts degrees.

Ram Vilas Paswan: Political Career

In the year 1969, before his entry into politics, Ram Vilas Paswan was selected as a DSP in Bihar Police. In 1969, he was elected to the Bihar state legislative assembly in 1969 as a member of the Samyukta Socialist Party from a reserved constituency. In 1974, he became the general secretary of the Lok Dal. 

In 1975, during the 21-month emergency, he was arrested and was in jail till the emergency was uplifted. 

After his release in 1977, he contested and won election from Hajipur constituency on Janata Party ticket. At that time, he held the world record for winning elections by highest margin. In 1980 and 1984, he was reelected from the Hajipur constituency. 

In 1983, he formed an organization 'Dalit Sena' for the welfare of the Dalit community. The organization was later headed by his brother Ram Chandra Paswan. The organization was later renamed to Scheduled Caste sena. 

In 1989, after reelected from Hajipur constituency, he was appointed as the Union Minister of Labour and Welfare in the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government. He served till 1990. 

From 1996 to 1998, he served as the Union Railway Minister. From October 1999 to September 2001, he served as the Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology. From 2001 to 2002, he was the Union Minister of Mines. 

In the year 2000, Paswan left the Janata Dal and formed his own party Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). In 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he joined the UPA government and from 2004 to 2009, he served as the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers. 

In 2005 Bihar elections, no party or alliance could form a government by itself. The Governor of Bihar, Buta Singh dissolved the state legislature and called for fresh elections, keeping Bihar under President's Rule. After the fresh elections, the NDA formed the new government in Bihar. 

In 2009 General Elections, he forged an alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav and his Rashtriya Janata Dal and dumped the Indian National Congress. For the first time in 33 years, Paswan lost the elections to former Chief Minister of Bihar, Ram Sundar Das. 

From 2014 till his death, he served as the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. 

Ram Vilas Paswan: Personal Life

Ram Vilas Paswan married Rajkumari Devi in 1960 and the couple had two daughters-- Usha and Asha. The couple got separated in the year 1981. Ram Vilas Paswan married air hostess Reena Sharma in the year 1983. The couple had a son and a daughter. His son Chirag Paswan is an actor-turned-politician. 

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