Rabri Devi (born 1956) 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.
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political career
Devi's appointment as the Chief Minister of Bihar was considered as one of the most unexpected and awkward decisions[1] in the entire Indian political history because she was a traditional housewife and had no interest nor any prior experience in politics until then.[2] 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.[3] It was alleged that he continued to act and administer as a de facto chief minister with his wife being a ceremonial head.[2][1]
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.[4]
Personal life[edit]
Rabri Devi married Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1973[4][9] at the age of 17 and has nine children, seven girls and two boys.[10] Her younger son Tejashwi Yadav served as the 4th Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and at 26 years, was the youngest to hold the coveted office until the current Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar resigned from the post as Tejaswi refused to resign owing to corruption charges against him, while elder son Tej Pratap Yadav occupies the post of Bihar Health Minister.