#Biharpolls: The life and times of Ram Vilas Paswan

Ram Vilas Paswan, chief of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) which is an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is often criticised for his bias towards the stronger party, be it the UPA or the NDA. In 2000, Paswan had formed the LJP after breaking from the Janata Dal. He was an NDA ally but had left it too after condemning the 2002 Gujarat riots.

After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he had surprisingly allied with the UPA government and was made the Union Minister in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Ministry of Steel. In 2009, Paswan lost the Lok Sabha elections after his grand alliance with RJD's Lalu Yadav backfired and keeping the Congress out hadn't paid off.

He had lost the elections from Hajipur, which is known as his safe seat.

In 2014, Paswan was credited with removing the tag of 'political untouchability' as he had allied once with the NDA led by Narendra Modi.

The LJP leader is popular amongst Bihar's dalit voters and this time he is hoping to repeat his 2014 Lok Sabha poll success in the much-awaited Bihar Assembly elections due in October.

Here's a brief profile of Ram Vilas Paswan:

Paswan was born into a dalit family on 5 July, 1946 in Khagaria district, Bihar. He later went on to become a popular dalit face in the state's politics.

Education and family

He attained his Bachelor of Law from Kosi College, Khagaria and a Master of Arts from Patna University.

He has four children and presently his son, actor turned politician Chirag Paswan, is carrying his political legacy forward.

Photo: Patrika

How Paswan has evolved over the years

• Paswan belongs to the league of anti-Emergency politicians and was an ardent follower of JP Narayan and Raj Narain. He went on to become the general secretary of the Lok Dal.

• He started his political career after winning the Bihar Assembly elections in 1969. He had contested from the Samyukta Socialist Party.

• He shifted to national politics soon after and held important ministries under various prime ministers.

• In 1977, Paswan won the Lok Sabha elections by a record margin of 4.24 lakh votes and it had took him to the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1989, he had won the Lok Sabha polls by a whooping margin of 5 lakh votes.

• He later won the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Paswan and the Union ministry

• He has been in the Union cabinet under the prime ministership of HD Deve Gowda, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and presently Narendra Modi.

• He held key cabinet portfolios in the Ministry of Mines, Railways, Ministry of Communication and IT, Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry, and Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

• He won the 2014 Lok Sabha selection and is currently serving as the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Photo: Patrika

LJP and the Bihar Assembly polls

• After the seat allocation, BJP President Amit Shah had decided that the LJP would contest the Bihar Assembly polls on 41 seats.

• In last year's Lok Sabha polls, the LJP had won six out of the seven seats it had contested. In the forthcoming the Bihar Assembly polls, Paswan is hoping to win maximum seats for a better position in the alliance.