Written by Jitendra Kumar Sinha,
English Translation by Kumari Swati
Ram Vilas Paswan, a strong personality in Bihar politics for four decades, died prematurely on 08 October at Fortis Escort Hospital in Delhi. He was doing it for the benefit of the country’s Dalits. Paswan was among the leaders of the country who devoted his entire life to the downtrodden and marginalized people. Being soft-spoken, everyone had a place in his heart. Due to this, they lost elections only once in 33 years. He first became an MLA in 1969 and became a Member of Parliament in 1977 by winning the Lok Sabha elections by a margin of world record votes.
Ram Vilas Paswan first became Union Labor Minister in 1989. He was followed by the Railway Minister in 1996, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1999, the Minister of Minerals and Coal in 2001, the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers in 2004, the Minister of Food-Consumer Protection in 2015 and the Minister of Food-Consumer Protection in 2019.
Ram Vilas Paswan was the founder of LJP (Lok Janshakti Party) and a member of Rajya Sabha from Bihar. He had been a minister in every central government in the last two decades. Ram Vilas Paswan was a member of the Lok Sabha 8 times in five decades. Ram Vilas Paswan had set out on the strength of his struggle by moving from Shahbanni, a very remote area of Khagaria to the power of Delhi. His grip on the pulse of politics was such that he was a minister in the cabinet of six prime ministers of the country and always played an effective role in politics. The effect of his political skills was that Sonia Gandhi herself went to his residence to join him in the UPA.
Such was the personality of Ram Vilas Paswan that the saying goes ‘Na kahu se friendship, na kahu se hater’. RJD’s Lalu Prasad named him ‘Meteorologist’. Ram Vilas Paswan himself had accepted that the government is made by him wherever he lives. Meaning they were adept at predicting the political season. He was one of the big leaders of socialist background. He was recognized as a national leader across the country. Ram Vilas Paswan won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections but lost in 2009. In 2009, Paswan tied up with Lalu Prasad’s party RJD. Former coalition partners left Congress. It was his first and final defeat in 33 years.
