Ram Vilas Paswan
Encyclopedia
Ram Vilas Paswan is the president of the Lok Janshakti Party
and a Rajya Sabha
MP
.
family. He holds a Bachelor of Laws
and a Master of Arts
degrees from Kosi College, Khagaria and Patna University.
("United Socialist Party") from a reserved constituency. In 1974, as an ardent follower of Raj Narayan and Jayaprakash Narayan
Paswan became the general secretary
of the Lok Dal. He was personally close to the prominent leaders of anti-emergency like Raj Narayan, Karpoori Thakur
and Satyendra Narayan Sinha
.
In 1975, when emergency was proclaimed in India, he was arrested and spent the entire period in jail. On being released in 1977, he became a member of the Janata Party
and won election to Parliament
for the first time on its ticket. He was re-elected to the 7th Lok Sabha
in 1980 and 1984 from Hajipur constituency. In 1983, he established the Dalit Sena, an organization for Dalit emancipation and welfare.
Paswan was re-elected to the 9th Lok Sabha in 1989 and was appointed Union Minister
of Labour and Welfare in the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government. In 1996 he even led the ruling alliance or Proposition
in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Ministers
was a member of the Rajya Sabha
. This was also the year when he first became the Union Railway Minister. He continued to hold that post till 1998. Thereafter, he was the Union Communications
Minister from October 1999 to September 2001 when he was shifted to the Coal
Ministry, the portfolio he held till April 2002.
In 2000 Paswan broke from the Janata Dal (United)
, to form the Lok Janshakti Party
(LJP). Following the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Paswan joined the United Progressive Alliance
government and was made the Union Minister in Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Ministry of Steel
.
In the February 2005 Bihar State elections, Paswan's party LJP along with the Indian National Congress contested the election. The result was that no particular party or alliance could form a government by itself. However, Paswan consistently refused to support either Laloo Yadav, whom he accused of being extremely corrupt, or the right-wing National Democratic Alliance
thereby creating a stalemate. This stalemate was broken when Nitish Kumar succeeded in persuading 12 members of Paswan's party to defect; to prevent the formation of a right-wing government supported by LJP defectors, the Governor
of Bihar, Buta Singh dissolved the state legislature and called for fresh elections, keeping Bihar under President's Rule
. In the November 2005 Bihar state elections, Paswan's third-alliance was utterly devastated; the Laloo Yadav-Congress alliance reduced to a minority and the NDA formed the new government.
Paswan has declared that the Bihar state elections have no influence on the Central Government
, which will continue with both him and Laloo Yadav as ministers.
Paswan has served as a Union Minster under five different Prime Ministers and holds the distinction of continuously holding on to a cabinet berth in all the Council of Ministers formed since 1996 (as of 2009). He also holds the distinction of being part of all the national coalitions (the United Front
, the National Democratic Alliance
and the United Progressive Alliance
), which have formed the Indian Government from 1996 to 2009.
For the Indian general election, 2009
Paswan forged an alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav
and his Rashtriya Janata Dal
, while dumping their erstwhile coalition partner and leader of the United Progressive Alliance
, the Indian National Congress
from the new alliance. The duo was later joined by Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party
and were declared the Fourth Front. He lost the elections from Hajipur
to the Janata Dal (United)
's Ram Sundar Das, a former Chief Minister
of Bihar
for the first time in 33 years. His party the Lok Janshakti Party
was not able to win any seats in the 15th Lok Sabha
, while his coalition partner Yadav and his party too failed to perform well and were reduced to 4 seats.
, Dalit
family.
He is married to Reena Sharma-Paswan, an upper-caste Punjabi
Brahmin
from Amritsar
, and they have a son and a daughter. He has two daughters from his first wife Raj Kumari. His son, Chirag Paswan is going to make his Bollywood
film debut very soon. In an interview with NDTV
, Paswan displayed confidence in the success of his son, he stated "Everybody wants to be the greatest man, but everybody also want that his son should be go on the higher place, and I have full confidence in Chirag that he will do whatever he will do he will be one of the best place".
After BA and before completing his LL B, Paswan qualified at the provincial civil service(BPSC) exam and was selected as Dy.S.P.in the reserved quota for the Scheduled Castes(SC). But before joining the police training, he had already come into contact with some socialists and had worked in the vicinity, moving on cycle. He got the ticket from Lohia's Samyukta Socialist Party(SSP) and won the 1969 Assembly elections from a constituency reserved for SCs.
Lok Janshakti Party
The Lok Jan Shakti Party is a state political party in the state Bihar , India. It is led by Ram Vilas Paswan. The party was formed in 2000 when Paswan split from Janata Dal . The party has considerable following amongst Dalits in Bihar. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections marked a major break-through for...
and a Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Early life and education
Paswan was born to a DusadhDusadh
The Dusadh are a Hindu caste, found in the states of Uttar Pradesh Bihar in India.-Etymology:William Crooke noted: attempt has been made to derive the name from the Sanskrit dusk "to be corrupted" and ad "to eat;" or from dauh-sâdhika, "a porter." But the name is more probably of non-Aryan...
family. He holds a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts is a high academic degree offered at many universities in Europe and the United States.A Master of Arts, Magister Artium, or Magister in Artibus may also refer to:...
degrees from Kosi College, Khagaria and Patna University.
Political career
Paswan was elected to the Bihar state legislative assembly in 1969 as a member of the Samyukta Socialist PartySamyukta Socialist Party
Samyukta Socialist Party , was a political party in India from 1964 to 1972. SSP was formed through a split in the Praja Socialist Party in 1964. In 1972 SSP was reunited with PSP, forming the Socialist Party....
("United Socialist Party") from a reserved constituency. In 1974, as an ardent follower of Raj Narayan and Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan , widely known as JP Narayan, Jayaprakash, or Loknayak, was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution...
Paswan became the general secretary
General secretary
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...
of the Lok Dal. He was personally close to the prominent leaders of anti-emergency like Raj Narayan, Karpoori Thakur
Karpoori Thakur
Karpoori Thakur was an Indian politician from the Bihar state. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak...
and Satyendra Narayan Sinha
Satyendra Narayan Sinha
Satyendra Narayan Sinha was an Indian statesman, participant in the Indian independence movement, and a former Chief Minister of Bihar...
.
In 1975, when emergency was proclaimed in India, he was arrested and spent the entire period in jail. On being released in 1977, he became a member of the Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...
and won election to Parliament
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...
for the first time on its ticket. He was re-elected to the 7th Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
in 1980 and 1984 from Hajipur constituency. In 1983, he established the Dalit Sena, an organization for Dalit emancipation and welfare.
Paswan was re-elected to the 9th Lok Sabha in 1989 and was appointed Union Minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
of Labour and Welfare in the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government. In 1996 he even led the ruling alliance or Proposition
Proposition (politics)
In politics, a proposition is a rarely used term to designate political parties, factions, and individuals in a legislature who are favorable and supportive of the incumbent government, as against the opposition....
in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
was a member of the Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
. This was also the year when he first became the Union Railway Minister. He continued to hold that post till 1998. Thereafter, he was the Union Communications
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
Minister from October 1999 to September 2001 when he was shifted to the Coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
Ministry, the portfolio he held till April 2002.
In 2000 Paswan broke from the Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal is a political party in India with political presence mainly in Bihar and Jharkhand. Janta Dal party mentor and patron is "Veteran Socialist leader" George Fernandes; George Fernandes broke away from the erstwhile Janata Dal and formed the Samata Party in 1994. Presently it is led...
, to form the Lok Janshakti Party
Lok Janshakti Party
The Lok Jan Shakti Party is a state political party in the state Bihar , India. It is led by Ram Vilas Paswan. The party was formed in 2000 when Paswan split from Janata Dal . The party has considerable following amongst Dalits in Bihar. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections marked a major break-through for...
(LJP). Following the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Paswan joined the United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance
The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...
government and was made the Union Minister in Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Ministry of Steel
Ministry of Steel (India)
The Ministry of Steel, a branch of Government of India, is the apex body for formulating all policies regarding steel production, distribution and pricing in India...
.
In the February 2005 Bihar State elections, Paswan's party LJP along with the Indian National Congress contested the election. The result was that no particular party or alliance could form a government by itself. However, Paswan consistently refused to support either Laloo Yadav, whom he accused of being extremely corrupt, or the right-wing National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (India)
The National Democratic Alliance is a centre-right coalition of political parties in India. At the time of its formation in 1998, it was led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and had thirteen constituent parties. Its convenor is Sharad Yadav, and its honorary chairman is former prime minister Atal...
thereby creating a stalemate. This stalemate was broken when Nitish Kumar succeeded in persuading 12 members of Paswan's party to defect; to prevent the formation of a right-wing government supported by LJP defectors, the Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Bihar, Buta Singh dissolved the state legislature and called for fresh elections, keeping Bihar under President's Rule
President's rule
President's rule is the term used in India when a state legislature is dissolved or suspended and the state is placed under direct federal rule...
. In the November 2005 Bihar state elections, Paswan's third-alliance was utterly devastated; the Laloo Yadav-Congress alliance reduced to a minority and the NDA formed the new government.
Paswan has declared that the Bihar state elections have no influence on the Central Government
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
, which will continue with both him and Laloo Yadav as ministers.
Paswan has served as a Union Minster under five different Prime Ministers and holds the distinction of continuously holding on to a cabinet berth in all the Council of Ministers formed since 1996 (as of 2009). He also holds the distinction of being part of all the national coalitions (the United Front
United Front (India)
The United Front was a coalition government of 13 political parties formed in India after the 1996 general elections. The coalition formed two governments in India between 1996 and 1998. The government was headed by two Prime Ministers from Janata Dal - H. D. Deve Gowda, and I. K. Gujral...
, the National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (India)
The National Democratic Alliance is a centre-right coalition of political parties in India. At the time of its formation in 1998, it was led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and had thirteen constituent parties. Its convenor is Sharad Yadav, and its honorary chairman is former prime minister Atal...
and the United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance
The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...
), which have formed the Indian Government from 1996 to 2009.
For the Indian general election, 2009
Indian general election, 2009
India held general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009. With an electorate of 714 million , it was the largest democratic election in the world to date.By constitutional requirement, elections to the Lok Sabha must be...
Paswan forged an alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party...
and his Rashtriya Janata Dal
Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a political party in India, based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Laloo Prasad Yadav. The party came about as a result of Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-president of Janata Dal, being evicted by Sharad Yadav, the then president, on corruption charges ...
, while dumping their erstwhile coalition partner and leader of the United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance
The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...
, the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
from the new alliance. The duo was later joined by Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party is a political party in India. It is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party...
and were declared the Fourth Front. He lost the elections from Hajipur
Hajipur
Hajipur is the headquarters of Vaishali district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for producing bananas, and has a modern railway zonal office. Patna, the capital of Bihar is only 10 km from Hajipur...
to the Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal is a political party in India with political presence mainly in Bihar and Jharkhand. Janta Dal party mentor and patron is "Veteran Socialist leader" George Fernandes; George Fernandes broke away from the erstwhile Janata Dal and formed the Samata Party in 1994. Presently it is led...
's Ram Sundar Das, a former Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
for the first time in 33 years. His party the Lok Janshakti Party
Lok Janshakti Party
The Lok Jan Shakti Party is a state political party in the state Bihar , India. It is led by Ram Vilas Paswan. The party was formed in 2000 when Paswan split from Janata Dal . The party has considerable following amongst Dalits in Bihar. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections marked a major break-through for...
was not able to win any seats in the 15th Lok Sabha
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected in 2009 during the General Elections in India.- Important members :* Speaker: Meira Kumar, Indian National Congress, Sasaram, Bihar...
, while his coalition partner Yadav and his party too failed to perform well and were reduced to 4 seats.
Personal life
Paswan spent his early years in Shaharbanni village in Khagaria district of Bihar. He was born to a scheduled-caste DusadhDusadh
The Dusadh are a Hindu caste, found in the states of Uttar Pradesh Bihar in India.-Etymology:William Crooke noted: attempt has been made to derive the name from the Sanskrit dusk "to be corrupted" and ad "to eat;" or from dauh-sâdhika, "a porter." But the name is more probably of non-Aryan...
, Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
family.
He is married to Reena Sharma-Paswan, an upper-caste Punjabi
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
from Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, and they have a son and a daughter. He has two daughters from his first wife Raj Kumari. His son, Chirag Paswan is going to make his Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film debut very soon. In an interview with NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
, Paswan displayed confidence in the success of his son, he stated "Everybody wants to be the greatest man, but everybody also want that his son should be go on the higher place, and I have full confidence in Chirag that he will do whatever he will do he will be one of the best place".
After BA and before completing his LL B, Paswan qualified at the provincial civil service(BPSC) exam and was selected as Dy.S.P.in the reserved quota for the Scheduled Castes(SC). But before joining the police training, he had already come into contact with some socialists and had worked in the vicinity, moving on cycle. He got the ticket from Lohia's Samyukta Socialist Party(SSP) and won the 1969 Assembly elections from a constituency reserved for SCs.