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The demise of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) founder and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan is set to become an emotive issue in the Bihar assembly polls with his son Chirag seeking to inherit the mantle in an election where he has declared chief minister Nitish Kumar as his number one target for alleged misrule and broken promises. Paswan's departure increases the possibility of fellow Dusadhs rallying around his son Chirag as a mark of tribute to the leader who remained their mascot for decades. Dusadhs, a politically aware Dalit sub-caste, known to vote aggressively, were the main reason behind the political prominence the Union minister enjoyed. With Ramvilas Paswan out of action this poll season because of his illness, doubts were being raised whether his successor would succeed in mobilising the community in the same measure.

Ram Vilas Paswan represented the paradox of being the most visible Dalit leader, for the longest period, on the Indian political firmament and yet unable to break through to establish political ground outside his native Bihar. What defined the affable and indefatigable Paswan was his never-ending desire to be the pan-Indian face of a community whose new-found aspirations coincided with his own rise during the Mandal movement. While the timing could not have been better, he was handicapped by his image as part of the "mainstream", which robbed him of the rebellious edge synonymous with an "outsider".