| Rabri Devi | |
| Birth Date: | 1 January 1955 |
| Birth Place: | Salar Kalan, Bihar, India |
| Residence: | Hawai Adda, Patna, Bihar, India |
| Office: | Leader of the Opposition Bihar Legislative Council |
| Term Start: | 14 February 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Hari Sahni |
| Predecessor1: | herself |
| Successor1: | Samrat Chaudhary |
| Predecessor2: | Sushil Modi |
| Successor2: | herself |
| Office6: | Member of Bihar Legislative Council |
| Term Start6: | 7 May 2012 |
| Office8: | 18th Leader of the Opposition Bihar Legislative Assembly |
| Term Start8: | 20 November 2005 |
| Term End8: | 23 December 2010 |
| Predecessor8: | Upendra Kushwaha |
| Successor8: | Abdul Bari Siddiqui |
| Office3: | 21st Chief Minister of Bihar |
| Term Start3: | 11 March 2000 |
| Term End3: | 6 March 2005 |
| Governor3: |
|
| Predecessor3: | Nitish Kumar |
| Successor3: | President's rule |
| Term Start4: | 9 March 1999 |
| Term End4: | 2 March 2000 |
| Governor4: | Sunder Singh Bhandari |
| Predecessor4: | President's rule |
| Successor4: | Nitish Kumar |
| Term Start5: | 25 July 1997 |
| Term End5: | 11 February 1999 |
| Governor5: | Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai |
| Predecessor5: | Lalu Prasad |
| Successor5: | 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) |
| Termstart1: | 13 April 2022 |
| Termend1: | 9 August 2022 |
| Termstart2: | 12 May 2018 |
| Termend2: | 23 June 2020 |
| Termstart7: | 11 December 1997 |
| Termend7: | 2 June 2000 |
| Constituency7: | elected by Legislative assembly member's |
| Office9: | Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly |
| Constituency9: | Raghopur |
| Termstart9: | 2 June 2000 |
| Termend9: | 26 November 2010 |
| Predecessor9: | Lalu Prasad |
| Successor9: | Satish Kumar Yadav |
Rabri Devi[1] [2] (Devanagri: राबड़ी देवी, pronounced as /sa/) 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 currently serving as the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council.
She is married to Indian politician Lalu Prasad, 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 Legislative Assembly.
Rabri was born in 1959[3] [4] 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.[5]
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, unlike her brothers, who received proper education. As a result, none of her sisters is educated. Prabhunath Yadav, Subhash Prasad Yadav and Sadhu Yadav are her three real brothers.
Rabri Devi became the first female Chief Minister of Bihar on 25 July 1997, after her husband, Lalu Prasad, 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.[8] [9]
She contested from Saran in 2014 Lok Sabha election but lost to Rajiv Pratap Rudy of BJP.[10]
Rabri Devi were elected unopposed to the Legislative Council.[11]
Rabri 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[12] and inexperience.[13]
Rabri Devi married Lalu Prasad on 1 June 1973 at the age of 14 years, in a child marriage, and they went on to have seven daughters and then 2 sons. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] Her husband, Lalu also demanded ₹5000 as dowry from her father, which was fulfilled.
Note: Rahul Yadav is son of Jitendra Yadav, former MLC from the Samajwadi Party. Jitendra is the nephew of former MP D. P. Yadav.
Rabri Devi has been elected 3 times as MLA and 4 times as MLC
| From | To | Position | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1997 | 2000 | RJD | ||
| 2. | 2000 | 2005 | RJD | ||
| 3. | Feb 2005 | Oct 2005 | RJD | ||
| 4. | 2005 | 2010 |
| RJD | |
| 5. | 2012 | 2018 | RJD | ||
| 6. | 2018 | 2024 |
| RJD | |
| 7. | 2024 | Present |
| RJD |