Renu Devi

Renu Devi (born 1 November 1959) is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar from 16 November 2020 to 9 August 2022. She also served as Animal and Fisheries Resources minister in 9th Nitish cabinet.

She became the fifth female Deputy Chief Minister of India from Bihar in 2020.^[2] A former national vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, she is currently a Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly and the formerly deputy legislative leader of party for the National Democratic Alliance.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Personal life

Renu, eldest of her parents' three sons and five daughters, comes from the Noniya caste, an extremely backward Class (EBC) community.^[9] She completed secondary school education in 1977 from the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University.^{[citation needed]}

She was married to a Kolkata-based insurance inspector named Durga Prasad in 1973.^[10] However, the sudden death of her husband within seven years of marriage made her return to Bettiah, her mother's hometown, and pursue it as her karmabhoomi.^[11] She is a single parent with two children.

Political career

Renu Devi's mother was associated with the Sangh Parivar, which is said to have strongly influenced her.^[12] Renu Devi was also part of Durga Vahini, the women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.^[13]

Beginning her political career through social activism in 1981, she later joined the BJP Mahila Morcha or BJP women's wing in 1988. Next year, she was given the responsibility to head the wing in the Champaran region. She was further chosen as the wing's state head for two terms, in 1993 and 1996.^[14]

Though she unsuccessfully contested her first election in 1995 from the Nautan Assembly seat, she was successful in being elected four times from Bettiah (2000–2015; 2020–present), another division of West Champaran district, to the Bihar Legislative Assembly. She lost 2015 elections to a Mahagathbandhan candidate from whom she recovered the seat again in 2020.

She served as the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture in the Bihar State Government between 2005 and 2009. She was also a national vice-president of the BJP between 2014 and 2020, and was nominated as a member of the National Working Committee of the party by Amit Shah.^[13] Her appointment in 2020 as a Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar has been positively received.^{[15][16][17][18]}

References

1. ^ "बिहार विधान सभा सचिवालय - सप्तदश बिहार विधान सभा मे माननीय सदस्यों की जन्म तिथि एवं टर्मवार सूची" (in Hindi). Bihar Vidhan Sabha. Archived 27 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
2. ^ "Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for fourth consecutive term; Renu Devi first woman deputy CM". The Indian Express^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "Thakur, Chaurasia dropped from Shah's team". The Times of India. 14 August 2014. Archived 4 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
4. ^ "BJP chief Amit Shah announces new team, Varun Gandhi dropped as general secretary". Hindustan Times. 16 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
5. ^ "Bhartiya Janata Party National Office Bearers". Bhartiya Janata Party. Archived 22 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
6. ^ "New Team BJP: BSY is VP, Ram Madhav G. Sec, Varun Dropped". Outlook. 16 August 2014. Archived 23 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
7. ^ "Sitting and previous MLAs from Bettiah Assembly Constituency". elections.in. Archived 7 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
8. ^ "Nitish Kumar allocates Bihar portfolios: Here's the full list of cabinet ministers | freepressjournal". m.freepressjournal.in. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
9. ^ "Nitish Kumar oath taking: Who are Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, two deputy CM probables?". The Indian Express
10. ^ "1st woman dy CM, RSS veteran to be the second-in-command in Bihar". Hindustan Times^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Renu Devi From Extremely Backward Caste Becomes First Woman Deputy CM of Bihar". Jansatta
12. ^ "बिहार की नई उप-मुख्यमंत्री होंगी रेणु देवी, जानिए उनके बारे में". LiveHindustan
13. ^ "From Durga Vahini to Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar: The Journey of Renu Devi". News18. 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
14. ^ "Mahila Morcha to Bihar Deputy CM: Renu Devi's 32 Years with BJP". The Quint
15. ^ "Renu Devi From Extremely Backward Caste Becomes First Woman Deputy CM of Bihar". She The People
16. ^ "Renu Devi, Bihar's first woman Deputy CM is RSS women's wing leader; BJP's counterweight to Nitish's clout". Times Now. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
17. ^ "Who is Renu Devi: BJP's surprise pick as Bihar's deputy Chief Minister". India Tv. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
18. ^ "Meet Renu Devi, First Woman To Be Deputy CM of Bihar" (in Hindi). Femina. Retrieved 2020-11-17.