Ram Vilas Paswan Dies At 74; Union Minister & LJP Leader No More, Tweets Son Chirag Paswan; A Look At The Political Journey Of The Anti-Emergency Icon, Janata Party Face & Socialist Who Glided With UPA, NDA

Ram Vilas Paswan, minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet and the founder of the Lok Janshakti Party, died on October 8 at a Delhi hospital where he was recuperating from heart surgery. Paswan was admitted to Delhi’s Fortis Escorts Heart Institute with heart failure & kidney problems on September 11. He was subsequently put on ventilator & Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), but his condition deteriorated in the past 24 hours. He passed away at 6.05 pm, read a statement from the hospital. The 74-year-old was undergoing treatment at the hospital, he underwent a surgery on October 3 "due to the situation that had suddenly emerged” his son Chirag Paswan had tweeted. On October 8, the 37-year-old posted the news of his father’s death. Home ministry officials said state funeral will be accorded to Ram Vilas Paswan and the national flag will fly at half-mast in Delhi and state capitals on October 9 as mark of respect. Cremation will take place in Patna on October 10. Twitter was flooded with tributes for the departed leader. Among the first to tweet was President Ram Nath Kovind, PM Narendra Modi, Congress's Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad. Known as one of the great survivors in Indian politics, Ram Vilas Paswan has been a minister in almost all Central governments formed since 1989 and served six Prime ministers, starting with the cabinet of VP Singh. Often called a “kingmaker” in Bihar, Paswan was known to be affable and approachable. Watch the video to know more about Ram Vilas Paswan’s political journey.