Rabri Devi

Rabri Devi Yadav is an Indian politician from the state of Bihar. She is a Member of the Legislative Council for Bihar Vidhan Parishad who has served three terms as the Chief Minister of Bihar, as a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party, between 1997 and 2005. She is the wife of the Indian politician Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Chief Minister of Bihar and former Railway Minister of India. She is the current Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council.

Rabri Devi Yadav
Chief Minister of Bihar
In office 11 March 2000 – 6 March 2005
Preceded by	Nitish Kumar
Succeeded by	President's rule
In office 9 March 1999 – 2 March 2000
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	Nitish Kumar
In office 25 July 1997 – 11 February 1999
Preceded by	Lalu Prasad Yadav
Succeeded by	President's rule
Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council
In office 12 May 2018 – 23 June 2020
Personal details
Born	1956[1] Gopalganj, Bihar, India[1]
Political party	RJD
Spouse(s)	Lalu Prasad Yadav
Relations	Tejashwi Yadav (Son) Tej Pratap Yadav (Son) Misa Bharti (Daughter) Raj Laxmi Yadav (Daughter) Tej Pratap Singh Yadav (Son-in-law) Chiranjeev Rao (Son-in-law) Sadhu Yadav (brother) Subhash Prasad Yadav(brother)
Residence	Patna

Political career

Devi's appointment as the Chief Minister of Bihar was considered as one of the most unexpected and awkward decisions[2] in the entire Indian political history because she was a traditional housewife and had no interest nor any prior experience in politics until then.[3] The move fitted well with the needs of the government in power at the time as Lalu Prasad Yadav had to quit as the Chief Minister of Bihar after the Fodder scam was revealed, but he was alleged to have been controlling the affairs by giving his wife the coveted post of the head of the state government.[4] It was alleged that he continued to act and administer as a de facto chief minister with his wife being a ceremonial head.[3][2]

She became the first woman Chief Minister of Bihar on 25 July 1997 after her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav had to resign as the Chief Minister following the arrest warrant issued against him in corruption charges; in an unprecedented move, he appointed Rabri Devi as the new Bihar Chief Minister to hold onto power.[5] In 2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, Rabri Devi contested on two seats: Raghopur and Sonpur assembly seats, but lost both while Rashtriya Janata Dal faced massive defeat, winning only 22 seats.[6][7]

She contested from Saran constituency in 2014 Loksabha election but lost to Rajiv Pratap Rudy of BJP.[8]

Criticism

The appointment of Rabri Devi as the Chief Minister of Bihar came under severe satirical criticism and stiff opposition, because she was illiterate[9][10] and had little experience or interest in politics.[11]

Personal life

Rabri Devi was born in 1956 in Gopalganj, Bihar.[1] She is named after an India sweet as per a custom in her family. Her sisters are similarly named Jalebi, Rasgulla and Paan.[12] Rabri Devi married Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1973[5][13] at the age of 17 and has nine children, seven girls and two boys.[14] Her younger son Tejashwi Yadav served as the 4th Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and at 26 years, was the youngest to hold the office.

References

1. "Rabri Devi: Age, Biography, Education, Husband, Caste, Net Worth & More - Oneindia". www.oneindia.com. OneIndia.
2. Mishra, Dipak (17 February 2017). "Proxy rule lessons from Bihar". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
3. Ahmed, Farz (11 August 1997). "Dragged from the kitchen to Bihar Assembly, Rabri Devi learns politics fast : Cover Story - India Today". India Today. Archived from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
4. Dasgupta, Swapan (4 August 1997). "Laloo Prasad Yadav mocks democracy by appointing wife Rabri Devi as successor : Cover Story - India Today". India Today. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
5. "Rabri Devi". Hindustan Times. 7 February 2005. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
6. "RJD Mobbed: Rabri Devi Loses Both Her Seats". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
7. "Rabri loses in both seats".
8. Vaibhav, Aditya (17 May 2014). "Election results 2014: JD(U), RJD decimated in Bihar". The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
9. "rediff.com: The Rediff Interview/ Rabri Devi". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
10. "Profile: Laloo to the Prasad Yadav". BBC. 18 December 2006. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
11. "rediff.com: The Rediff Interview/ Rabri Devi". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
12. Akbar, M. J. "M. J. Akbar: Laloo steals Congress seats in Bihar for sweet Rabri". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
13. "Rabri vividly recalls how she had boarded a steamer at Pahleja Ghat in Sonepur (Chapra) to reach the Patna residence soon after her marriage on March 18, 1974 when curfew had been imposed all over the district". Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
14. Thakur, Sankarshan (27 March 2014). "A sibling swing at succession". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2015.