Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan, one of the most prominent Dalit leaders of the country who had been a part of several governments headed by rival parties, died on October 8 at the age of 74.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal was given additional charge of the consumer affairs, food and public distribution ministry. Goyal is currently serving as the minister of railways and minister of commerce and industry.

A stalwart of the socialist movement who later emerged as Bihar’s foremost Dalit leader with following across the country, Paswan was instrumental in the implementation of the Mandal Commission report in the 1990s.

He was a minister in central governments headed by parties of contrasting ideological persuasions, ranging from the Janata Dal to the Congress and the BJP, since 1989. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) founder served as a minister in governments headed by V.P. Singh, H.D. Deve Gowda, I.K Gujral, Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and now Narendra Modi. 

Guinness record for winning with highest margin

Born in Khagaria in 1946, Paswan was selected as a police official but chose the calling of politics and became an MLA for the first time in 1969 on a Samyukta Socialist Party ticket.

Former socialist leader Jai Prakash Narayan inspired a generation of youth leaders who were tempered during the Emergency of 1975-1977 as they were incarcerated under the draconian provisions. Paswan was one of them. He spent the entire Emergency period in jail.

When Paswan came out of jail and went on to contest Lok Sabha elections from Hajipur in 1977, immediately after the Emergency, he won by a record margin of 4.24 lakh. This not only earned the Dalit leader stardom across the country, as he wrested the seat from the Congress, but also a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Served as minister with six PMs

Known for his uncanny sense to spot the political atmosphere in the country especially during the elections, he was often called ‘mausam vaigyanik’, as he had often switched sides to be with the winning side. After he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, Paswan became the labour minister in V.P. Singh government. He held the post for one year. His next big chance was during the governments of Deve Gowda, and I.K. Gujral  when he became the railway minister in 1996 for two years.

When Atal Bihar Vajpayee formed the first NDA government, Paswan was part of it. He held the portfolios of communications and then mines. He resigned from the government in 2002. When the UPA government was formed in 2004, Paswan was part of it as chemicals and fertilisers minister. Paswan was back in the reckoning when he became part of the Narendra Modi government as consumer affairs minister in 2014, a post he held till his death.

He served as minister with six prime ministers, a rare feat, which also signified his politics and personality. He was at ease with leaders of various political hues, rarely evoking strong reactions for siding with the winning side. 

In his four decades of presence at the national stage, Paswan had not only watched but actively participated in the difficult years of coalition politics, and how the country passed through various tumultuous events.

After staying part of the Janata Party, Paswan had decided to chart his own course as he floated the LJP in 2000. The party’s best performance came in the 2005 Bihar elections when it fought along with the Congress. It won 29 seats. As no party had secured a majority, Paswan refused to side with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD or the BJP, thus provoking a re-election. 

The LJP fared badly as it could win only 10 seats then. Nitish Kumar became the chief minister in 2005. Paswan fared well in the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 when he allied with the NDA. During the 2015 Assembly elections, the LJP could win only two seats.

Paswan’s death came at a time when his son Chirag took the biggest political gamble of his life, causing a churn in Bihar politics. By going solo for the upcoming Assembly elections, the LJP is hoping to recover the lost ground, especially to establish Chirag as a young leader in the state.

This article originally appeared in The Week.

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