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.
Key Description:
Chief Minister of Bihar: 11 March 2000 – 6 March 2005
Preceded By: Nitish Kumar
Succeeded By: President's rule (9 March 1999 – 2 March 2000)
Preceded By: President's rule
Succeeded By: Nitish Kumar (25 July 1997 – 11 February 1999)
Preceded By: Lalu Prasad Yadav
Succeeded By: President's rule
Leader of Opposition in Bihar: Legislative Council (12 May 2018 – 23 June 2020)
Personal Details:
- Born: Gopalganj, Bihar, India
- Political Party: RJD
- Spouse(s): Lalu Prasad Yadav
- Relations Tejashwi Yadav (Son), Tej Pratap Yadav (Son), Misa Bharti (Daughter), Rajlaxmi Yadav (Daughter), Tej Pratap Singh Yadav (Son-in-law), Chiranjeev Rao (Son-in-law), Sadhu Yadav (brother), Subhash Prasad Yadav(brother)
Residence: Patna
Social Network: Facebook, Twitter
Rabri Devi Political Career:
Devi's appointment as the Chief Minister of Bihar was considered as one of the most unexpected and awkward decisions in the entire Indian political history because she was a traditional housewife and had no interest nor any prior experience in politics until then. 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. It was alleged that he continued to act and administer as a de facto chief minister with his wife being a ceremonial head.
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. 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.
She contested from Saran constituency in 2014 Loksabha election but lost to Rajiv Pratap Rudy of BJP.
Rabri Devi Criticism
The appointment of Rabri Devi as the Chief Minister of Bihar came under severe satirical criticism and stiff opposition, because she was illiterate and had little experience or interest in politics.
Personal life
Rabri Devi married Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1973 at the age of 17 and has nine children, seven girls and two boys. 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.