Rabri Devi (Devanagri: राबड़ी देवी, IAST: rābar̤ī devī Sanskrit pronunciation: [ɾɑːbəɽiː d̪eːʋiː]) is an Indian politician who currently serves as the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council. She served as the chief minister of Bihar almost continuously between 1997 to 2005; she is the first and only woman till date to have held the office. She is also served as leader of the house in legislative assembly). She was a member (MLA) of Bihar Legislative Assembly and previously served as the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
A member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, she is married to Indian politician Lalu Prasad Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar from 1990–1997. Her sons Tejashwi Yadav & Tej Pratap Yadav and daughter Misa Bharti are also politicians.
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Early life and education
Rabri was born in 1959 in Salar Kalan village, located near Mirganj in the Gopalganj district of Bihar. However, she has stated in affidavits submitted for elections that her birth year is as early as 1953. Her parents are Sib Prasad Chaudhary and Maharjia Devi. She is named after an Indian sweet as per a custom in her family. Her 3 sisters are similarly named Jalebi, Rasgulla and Paan.
She has studied only up to the fifth standard at a local school in her village. Her parents were hesitant to send their daughters to schools located far away. As a result, none of her sisters got any formal education. Prabhunath Yadav, Subhash Prasad Yadav and Sadhu Yadav are her three brothers.
Political career
Devi became the first female Chief Minister of Bihar on 25 July 1997, after her husband, incumbent chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, was forced to resign following the arrest warrant issued against him in corruption charges relating to the Fodder scam. Her appointment as the chief minister of Bihar is considered one of the most unexpected decisions in Indian political history, as she was a traditional housewife and had no prior interest in politics. She came under severe criticism and mockery, due to her illiteracy and inexperience.
She went on to rule the state until 2005. She was also the last chief minister of undivided Bihar.
Devi was elected thrice to the Bihar Vidhan Sabha from the Raghopur seat. In the 2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, Devi contested from two seats: Raghopur and Sonpur, but lost both in an election where the Rashtriya Janata Dal faced defeat, winning only 22 seats.
She contested from Saran in 2014 Lok Sabha election but lost to Rajiv Pratap Rudy of BJP.
Devi was elected unopposed to the Legislative Council in 2024 elections.
Personal life and family
Rabri Devi married Lalu Prasad on 1 June 1973 at the age of 14 years, in a child marriage. Together, they have seven daughters and two sons. During her wedding, Lalu was given ₹20,000 cash, five bighas of land and two jersey cows as dowry but he went on to demand an additional ₹5,000 from her father, which was eventually fulfilled.
She is also known for maintaining a simple and grounded public image while continuing to remain active in Bihar politics as a senior leader.
Positions held
Rabri Devi has been elected 3 times as MLA and 4 times as MLC.