Ram Vilas Paswan: From Modi baiter to Modi ministry

Posted on 27th May 2014 10:35 pm by admin

Patna, May 26 (IANS) A dozen years after he attacked then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi over the 2002 riots and quit the NDA, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan Monday joined the cabinet in a Modi-led central government.<br /><br />A Dalit leader, Paswan and RJD chief Lalu Prasad were widely seen as potential Congress allies in the Lok Sabha election. But in February he surprised everyone by aligning with the BJP to contest Lok Sabha polls.<br /><br />Political activist Ashok Kumar Singh, who has known Paswan for four decades, said there was a time when Paswan was attracted to Maoism but he never embraced it.<br /><br />After his graduation and before he completed his law degree, Paswan was all set to become a policeman but did not take up the job. He instead contested the 1969 Bihar assembly polls as the now defunct SSP candidate and won.<br /><br />Paswan won the Lok Sabha polls from Hajipur in 1977 with a margin of 4.24 lakh votes - a record broken only by P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1991.<br /><br />Becaming a union minister for the first time in 1989 in the V.P. Singh government, Paswan emerged as one of the most vocal supporters of the Mandal Commission recommendations.<br /><br />He served as a minister in the United Front governments of H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral. Paswan was also a minister in the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the UPA-I government of Manmohan Singh.<br /><br />Paswan was defeated in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls but was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2011 with the RJD's support.<br /><br />In 2014, he won from his traditional Hajipur seat, thanks to the Modi wave.<br /><br />His first wife Raj Kumari Devi lives in his native village Shaharbanni in Khagaria district. He later married again. His actor-turned-politician son Chirag Paswan also won the Lok Sabha polls -- from Jamui.<br /><br />One of Paswan's brothers is an MP while another is a former legislator in Bihar.

Other news

Tonnes of garbage pile up in Ghaziabad as workers strike

Ghaziabad, March 17 (IANS) Over 1,700 tonnes of garbage piled up across Ghaziabad on Tuesday as

Kunal Kamra: 'I will not apologize to Eknath Shinde, I am not afraid of the crowd'; Kamra said- Ajit Pawar had also said the same

Comedian Kunal Kamra is constantly in the headlines after making controversial comments about Mah

So the supply of mobile and cars will stop in the world! The attack on Ukraine increased the crisis of Chip

Russia Ukraine Conflict: Chip's crisis may deepen due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukrai

IGNOU Admission: Re-register till June 30 for the academic session 2022, these students should also know the university. important points of

Candidates can re-register till June 30 for admission to Indira Gandhi National Open University (

Rajasthan to hold roadshows to attract investment

Jaipur, March 31 (IANS) With an aim to bring investment in the state, the Rajasthan government

Liquor Scam: 'More than 300 CBI-ED officers took 24 hours...nothing found', Kejriwal's taunt on the raid

The Enforcement Directorate is tightening its grip on the alleged liquor scam in Delhi. It is rep

Sonu Sood's joining Kejriwal is a soft launch in politics?

Sonu Sood has been in the limelight for social work in recent times, what is the significance of

Corona Vaccine India: Will Corona Vaccine Be Made In Short Time? Will everyone need to get it done? ... Know the easy answers to every question related to vaccination

Soon after America, Britain, a big campaign against the Coronavirus is going to start in India to

India will soon win the battle of Corona, these 3 figures increase government's expectation

new Delhi. Amid the coronavirus infection, the central government has announced the third phase o

The number of candidates in the Lok Sabha elections increased four times as compared to 1952, read how many candidates contested the first general election.

In comparison to the first general election held in 1952, the number of candidates has increased