39 years after divorce, Ram Vilas Paswan’s first wife arrives to pay last tributes

Hours before Ram Vilas Paswan was cremated in Patna, on the banks of Ganga, there was an unexpected family member to pay tributes to the departed leader - Raj Kumari Devi.

Married to Paswan in 1960, Raj Kumari is his first wife and leads a quiet life, strictly shunning media limelight, at senior Paswan’s ancestral house at Saharbanni village in Khagaria district.

“She arrived from Khagaria to Patna and paid tributes to Ram Vilas Ji at his SK Puri residence on Saturday morning. However, on seeing his body, she fainted after crying inconsolably,” a family member told Deccan Herald.

Raj Kumari was barely 13 and Ram Vilas Paswan 14 years of age when they married in 1960. They have two daughters: Usha and Asha. While Usha is married to an officer-turned-politician Mrinal, Asha is married to RJD leader Anil Kumar Sadhu. Asha and Sadhu were denied entry at Patna airport on Friday evening when Paswan’s body was flown here, as their names did not figure in the list submitted by the family to the district administration.

Paswan’s second wife is Reena Sharma Paswan, a former air-hostess. Bitten by the love-bug, Ram Vilas married Reena, a Punjabi, in 1983 soon after they met during one of his tours. Chirag is their only son, besides a daughter, who is married to former Congress MLA Jyoti’s son.

That senior Paswan had "divorced Raj Kumari Devi in 1981 itself" was publicly disclosed only during the 2014 Lok Sabha election when the JD (U) challenged Ram Vilas Paswan’s marital status.

“My father loved all his children (the two daughters from his first wife and the two children from his second wife) equally, and kept cordial relations with everyone. But Madam (Reena) was not keen to keep the family unified,” alleged Asha after being denied permission at the airport to pay tributes to her father.

On Saturday afternoon, Paswan was cremated with full State honours at Janardan Ghat in Patna. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Chirag Paswan and other family members were present on the occasion.