Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has for decades portrayed himself as a champion of the dalit cause, ever since he plunged into state politics in Bihar in the late 1960s and entered Parliament a decade later.
After he entered Parliament, Paswan has continued to flaunt his pro-dalit credentials, even as he frequently shifted allegiances between the Congress and BJP in recent decades. However, now, Paswan's pro-dalit platform could face an embarrassing challenge from unexpected quarters: one of the two daughters from his first marriage. Paswan had divorced his first wife in 1981 and married a Punjabi Brahmin in 1983.
Anil Sadhu, who is married to Asha, Paswan's daughter from his first marriage, has accused the LJP of treating dalits as “bonded labourers” and declared on Friday that he and his wife were ready to contest against Paswan in the coming Lok Sabha polls if offered a ticket by the opposition RJD.
Sadhu alleged Paswan had projected Chirag, his son from the second marriage, as his political heir and given the two daughters from his first marriage a raw deal. Chirag won the 2014 Lok Sabha election from the reserved constituency of Jamui and has been the most prominent face of the LJP nationally after his father.
Sadhu had been associated with the LJP for long, including with the Dalit Sena group that Paswan founded. Sadhu had been president of the Dalit Sena. Sadhu unsuccessfully contested the 2015 Assembly polls on an LJP ticket, but eventually distanced himself from the party and was seen at an RJD event this year, raising speculation about his political motives.
Sadhu claimed he and his wife want to contest against Paswan and Chirag for allegedly “deceiving” the dalits by allying with the BJP, which he termed as an anti-dalit party.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, Paswan disclosed, reportedly for the first time, that he had divorced his first wife in 1981 after the JD(U) questioned his marital status in his election affidavit as it mentioned only his second marriage.
