Pashupati Kumar Paras was born on July 12, 1952, in Khagaria. An Indian politician from Bihar, he holds a B.Ed degree along with a BA (Hons) in Political Science. In the current Lok Sabha, he represents the Hajipur constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs).
He was a minister for the Animal and Fish Resources Department in the Bihar government. The younger brother of late Ram Vilas Paswan, Paras was also the State President of Lok Janshakti Party, Bihar unit. He was also elected as the National President of the LJP in 2001 after replacing Chirag Kumar Paswan.
He has been a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from Alauli since 1977. The LJP leader has been an MLA, a state minister, an MP and an MLC. However, was widely known as “Ram Vilas ka bhai”.
Also Read: Cabinet reshuffle: Full list of 43 ministers taking oath
According to media reports, for long, he was seen as a reluctant, low-profile politician. However, he is currently being touted as the person who can counter the blunder Chirag did by going against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the 2020 assembly election.
When Ram Vilas Paswan was alive, Paras served in the capacity of his point person in Bihar. The late leader depended on Paras to run his party, and keep contact with his MPs and MLAs, the Print reported.
For many years, Paras served as a doorway to the state government for Paswan. Whatever Paswan needed from the state government, Paras was there. The major reason behind it that was – he had a good rapport with Nitish Kumar even when Nitish and Paswan were on opposite sides.
After the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when Chirag Paswan took over the party, he was sidelined and was not included in the party’s decisions.
After barbs were traded between Chirag and Paras, the latter was removed as state party chief last year.
Also Read: Who is Narayan Rane?
“After my brother’s death, I felt alone. After the death of my brother, we had hoped that we would be a part of the NDA. But it did not happen and the party was going to pieces and there was no one to listen to the workers,” Paras told reporters on July 5.
“I have taken the step to save the party. As long as I am alive, the LJP will exist.”