Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Sunday, 5 July 2026, paid tribute to Padma Bhushan awardee and Lok Janshakti Party founder Ram Vilas Paswan on the occasion of his birth anniversary, honouring the late leader's lifelong commitment to the welfare of the poor, marginalised, and backward communities.

Posting on X in Hindi, Singh wrote: 'पद्म भूषण से सम्मानित, लोक जनशक्ति पार्टी के संस्थापक एवं पूर्व केंद्रीय मंत्री, श्रद्धेय रामविलास पासवान जी की जयंती पर उन्हें कोटि-कोटि नमन।' — translated: 'On the birth anniversary of the revered Ram Vilas Paswan Ji, Padma Bhushan awardee, founder of the Lok Janshakti Party and former Union Minister, I offer countless salutations.' He added that Paswan's life, dedicated to the welfare of the poor, the deprived, and the backward, 'will always remain a source of inspiration for all of us.'

Context

Ram Vilas Paswan was one of Bihar's most prominent Dalit political figures, whose career spanned several decades and multiple governments across the ideological spectrum. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honours, in recognition of his contributions to public life. Paswan passed away in October 2020, leaving behind a significant political legacy rooted in the advocacy of Dalit and backward-class rights.

Paswan founded the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in 2000 after breaking away from earlier Janata Dal formations. The party became a key ally within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and Paswan himself served as Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first NDA government from 2014 to 2020.

Policy Backdrop

Paswan's political identity was built around the consistent championing of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes. His ministerial tenures across governments of differing political persuasions earned him a reputation as a pragmatic coalition partner who kept Dalit welfare at the centre of his public positions.

The LJP underwent a significant split in 2021, with factions led by his son Chirag Paswan and his brother Pashupati Kumar Paras staking competing claims to the party's name and symbol. The legacy of Ram Vilas Paswan thus remains a contested but potent symbol in Bihar's caste-inflected electoral politics.

Stakeholders and Impact

Dalit communities across Bihar and nationally continue to regard Paswan as a foundational figure in their political representation within mainstream coalition governments. Annual tributes from senior BJP and NDA leaders on his birth anniversary signal the continued importance of retaining symbolic association with his legacy, particularly among Bihar's sizeable Dalit voter base.

Giriraj Singh, himself a Lok Sabha MP from Begusarai, Bihar, has a direct political stake in the state's caste arithmetic. His public tribute is consistent with a broader pattern of BJP ministers publicly honouring Paswan to reinforce the NDA's outreach to marginalised communities ahead of electoral cycles.

What's Next

With Bihar assembly elections on the political horizon, tributes such as this one are likely to multiply across the NDA spectrum, as alliance partners seek to consolidate their standing among Dalit and backward-class constituencies. The competing LJP factions' responses to such occasions will also be watched as a barometer of intra-alliance dynamics.

The enduring relevance of Ram Vilas Paswan's birth anniversary as a political moment underscores how deeply caste-based coalition management remains embedded in Bihar's electoral calculus — a pattern that will continue to shape seat-sharing negotiations and campaign messaging in the state.