Ram Vilas Paswan no more: RJD chief Lalu Yadav mourns; politicians, ministers condole loss

Condoling the loss of Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) Ram Vilas Paswan, on Thursday, leaders across the political spectrum mourned his loss. Senior leaders like Congress' Kapil Sibal, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Giriraj Singh mourned the passing away of the tall Bihari politician. The 74-year-old parliamentarian was ailing and recently underwent a heart surgery.

Lalu Yadav mourns his death

Mourning the loss of his political peer of 45 years, jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav too tweeted his condolences. Reminiscing the various social, political struggles fought by Yadav along with Paswan, the RJD chief that those memories were brimming in his eyes. Calling it a death too early, Yadav tweeted 'Om Shanti Om'.

Politicians mourn Paswan's death

Ram Vilas Paswan no more

Taking to Twitter, LJP president and Paswan's son Chirag confirmed that Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan passed away at a hospital in the national capital on Thursday. Since the last few weeks, the veteran political leader hailing from Bihar had been hospitalized. He underwent heart surgery on October 4. Bihar will vote in 3 phases - October 28, November 3, and November 7, with the results being declared on November 10.

Paswan's career

Born on July 5, 1946, Paswan was the founder of the Lok Janshakti Party. His first foray in electoral politics was successful after he was elected to the Bihar Assembly in 1969 as a Samyukta Socialist Party candidate. He was one of the prominent politicians who was jailed during the Emergency. From 1977 onwards, he was continuously elected to the Lok Sabha barring for 1984 and 2009. He served as a Union Minister in both UPA as well as NDA regimes. On June 28, 2019, he was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar. 

After the Janata Dal split into two factions, he along with some other members formed the LJP in November 2000. From 1977 onwards, he was continuously elected to the Lok Sabha barring for 1984 and 2009. He served as a Union Minister in the National Front governments (1989-90 and 1996-98), the Atal Bihar Vajpayee-led NDA government (1999-2002), the UPA government (2004-2009) and the Narendra Modi-led government (2014-2020).