A Dalit leader from Bihar, Ram Vilas Paswan was the founder of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and served as Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution under the NDA. An eight-time Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha, Paswan went to jail during Indira Gandhi's tenure when emergency was imposed in the country. Hailing from Shaharbanni Village in Khagaria District of Bihar, Paswan began his political career as a member of Samyukta Socialist Party and in 1969 became a member of Bihar Legislative Assembly. He was elected to Lok Sabha for the first time in 1977 as Janata Party member and re-elected five consecutive times from Hajipur constituency in Bihar. Paswan formed the LJP in 2000 and joined Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2004. He served as a Union Minister under five prime ministers and his party has been a member of all national coalitions. In 2019, Paswan relinquished the post of LJP president--which he held for nearly two decades--to his son Chirag Paswan. Ram Vilas Paswan passed away in October, 2020. He was 74.