| Rabri Devi Yadav | |
| Birth Date: | 1 January 1955 |
| Birth Place: | Salar Kalan, Bihar, India |
| Residence: | Hawai Adda, Patna, Bihar, India |
| Office: | Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Vidhan Parishad |
| Term Start: | 14 February 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Hari Sahni |
| Term Start1: | 13 April 2022 |
| Term End1: | 9 August 2022 |
| Term Start2: | 12 May 2018 |
| Term End2: | 23 June 2020 |
| Predecessor1: | herself |
| Successor1: | Samrat Chaudhary |
| Predecessor2: | Sushil Modi |
| Successor2: | herself |
| Office3: | Member of Bihar Legislative Council |
| Term Start3: | 2012 |
| Office4: | Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Vidhan Sabha |
| Term Start4: | 20 November 2005 |
| Term End4: | 23 December 2010 |
| Predecessor4: | Upendra Kushwaha |
| Successor4: | Abdul Bari Siddiqui |
| Office5: | 21st Chief Minister of Bihar |
| Term Start5: | 11 March 2000 |
| Term End5: | 6 March 2005 |
| Governor5: | |
| Predecessor5: | Nitish Kumar |
| Successor5: | President's rule |
| Term Start6: | 9 March 1999 |
| Term End6: | 2 March 2000 |
| Governor6: | Sunder Singh Bhandari |
| Predecessor6: | President's rule |
| Successor6: | Nitish Kumar |
| Term Start7: | 25 July 1997 |
| Term End7: | 11 February 1999 |
| Governor7: | Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai |
| Predecessor7: | Lalu Prasad Yadav |
| Successor7: | President's rule |
| Party: | Rashtriya Janata Dal |
| Relations: | Tej Pratap Singh Yadav (son-in-law) Chiranjeev Rao (son-in-law) Sadhu Yadav (brother) Subhash Prasad Yadav (brother) |
| Children: | 9 (including Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav and Misa Bharti) |
Rabri Devi Yadav (also spelled as Raabri), (born 1 January 1955) is an Indian politician who formerly served 3 terms as the Chief Minister of Bihar, the first and only woman till date to have held the office. She is a Member (MLC) of Bihar Legislative Council and she currently serving as the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Vidhan Parishad.
She is married to Indian politician Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Chief Minister of Bihar (1990-1997). Yadav previously served as a Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly (MLA) and she formerly served as the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Vidhan Sabha.
Devi was born on 1 January 1955 in Salar Kalan village near Mirganj of Gopalganj district, Bihar. Her parents are Shiv Prasad Chaudhary and Maharjia Devi.[1] She is named after an Indian sweet as per a custom in her family. Her 3 sisters are similarly named Jalebi, Rasgulla and Paan.[2]
Prabhunath Yadav, Subhash Prasad Yadav and Sadhu Yadav are her three real brothers.
Devi became the first female Chief Minister of Bihar on 25 July 1997, after her husband, Lalu Prasad Yadav, was forced to resign following the arrest warrant issued against him in corruption charges relating to the Fodder scam ('
Devi was elected thrice to Bihar Vidhan Sabha from Raghopur seat. In 2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, Devi contested from two seats: Raghopur and Sonpur assembly seats, but lost both in an election where the Rashtriya Janata Dal faced defeat, winning only 22 seats.[5] [6]
She contested from Saran in 2014 Lok Sabha election but lost to Rajiv Pratap Rudy of BJP.[7]
Rabri Devi were elected unopposed to the Legislative Council.[8]
Devi's appointment as the Chief Minister of Bihar is considered one of the most unexpected and awkward decisions in Indian political history, as she was a traditional housewife and had no interest nor any prior experience in politics. She came under severe satirical criticism and stiff opposition, because of her illiteracy[9] [10] and inexperience.[11]
Devi married Lalu Prasad Yadav on 1 June 1973 at the age of 17 years, in an arranged marriage, and they went on to have seven daughters and then 2 sons. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
Note: Rahul Yadav is son of Jitendra Yadav, former MLC from the Samajwadi Party. Jitendra is the nephew of former MP D. P. Yadav.
Devi Yadav has been elected 3 times as MLA.
| From | To | Position | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2000 | 2005 | RJD | ||
| 2. | Feb 2005 | Oct 2005 | RJD | ||
| 3. | 2005 | 2010 | RJD | ||
| 4. | 2012 | 2018 | RJD | ||
| 5. | 2018 | Present | RJD |