Ram Vilas Paswan is presently serving the role of Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. He is also a powerful Dalit leader from Bihar, the president of the Lok Janshakti Party, an eight-time Lok Sabha member and a former MP of the Rajya Sabha. He is responsible very much for the biggest change in Indian politics. Paswan has gradually developed as the special leader of Indian Dalits. Paswan`s fortunes have risen and fallen with the position of his party, but his strategy is pretty eminent. This 67-year-old Indian politician has essayed a key role in helping Narendra Modi shed the "political pariah" tag.

Early Life of Ram Vilas Paswan
Ram Vilas Paswan who hails from the state of Bihar was born on 5th July 1946 to father late Shri Jamun Paswan and mother Siya Devi. Paswan spent his early days in Shaharbanni village in Khargaria district of Bihar. He is M.A., B.L. from Kosi College, Khagaria and Patna University, Patna (Bihar). After B.A. 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). However, before he joined the police training, he came into contact with some socialists and worked in the vicinity, moving on cycle.

Political Career of Ram Vilas Paswan
Ram Vilas Paswan as a member of die Samyutka Socialist Party was elected to the Bihar State Assembly in 1969. At the time he was appreciably attracted to the Naxalite movement and believed in whatsoever non-violence. It was only with the coming of the `JP Movement` that he came to accept the superiority of non-violence. In 1974 as a follower and a close colleague of Jayaprakash Narayan, he became the general secretary of the Lok Dal.

In 1975, when emergency was proclaimed in India, he was arrested at the beginning of the Emergency. He spent the entire period of the Emergency in jail. In the year 1977, he was released and became the member of the Janata Party. In the very same year, he contested for election and for the first time on its ticket won a reserved Parliamentary seat for the Janata Party. He was re-elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980. Paswan has been a member of the Lok Sabha ever since with the elision of the period from 1984 to 1989.

In the year 1983, for Dalit liberation and welfare, Paswan established an organization, the Dalit Sena. His objective was to be seen as the national leader of the Dalits. He simultaneously promoted himself as a strong leader of other out-groups - the Backwards and also the Muslims, from whom he claims to, have particularly strong personal support.

In 1989, Paswan was re-elected to the 9th Lok Sabha and in the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government, was appointed Union Minister of Labour and Welfare in the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government. As Minister for Labour and Welfare, Ram Vilas Paswan had a turbulent period. During that period his notable achievements were effectuation of the long-standing Dalit demand, which was portrayed by Dr B R Ambedkar. Another achievement in that arena was that, he made it possible to carry the Government to the extend reservation in employment to Scheduled Caste persons who had become Buddhists; rite primary beneficiary of this change is the Mahars. On 1996 he first became the Union Railway Minister and held the position till 1998. Later he was the Union Communications Minister from October 1999 to September 2001 when he was shifted to the Coal Ministry. He held this position till April 2002.

To form the Lok Jan Shakti Party, Paswan in the year 2000 broke from the Janata Dal (United). Paswan joined the United Progressive Alliance government following the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Thereafter he was made the Union Minister in Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Ministry of Steel. Paswan`s party LJP contested in the February 2005 Bihar State elections, along with the Indian National Congress. The result was notable in the sense that no particular party or alliance could form a government by itself. Paswan`s third-alliance was absolutely wiped out when the November 2005 Bihar state election took place.

He has worked as a Union Minster under five different Prime Ministers. He bears the distinction of continuously holding on to a cabinet berth in all the Council of Ministers formed since 1996 (as of 2009).

Paswan has been elected as member of 16th Lok Sabha after the 2014 Indian general election from Hajipur constituency in Bihar.

Personal Life of Ram Vilas Paswan
The first wife of Paswan was Raj Kumari with whom he has two daughters. Currently he is married to Reena Sharma, a Punjabi Brahmin and the couple has a son and a daughter.