Renu Devi: First woman from extremely backward caste becomes first woman Dy CM of Bihar

62-year-old Renu Devi, from the Noniya community, on Monday, took oath as one of Bihar's two Deputy Chief Ministers along with Tarkishore Prasad. By making Renu Devi as deputy CM, the BJP would now look to the asset itself in backward communities of the state.

Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Renu Devi has taken oath as the deputy CM of Bihar on Monday. Devi was on Sunday elected as the deputy leader of the BJP legislature party.

Renu Devi from the Bettiah constituency belongs to the Nonia caste of the EBCs in Bihar.

The appointment of Devi, a backward caste woman as Deputy CM is a significant move towards encouraging the gender-inclusivity in Bihar government.

It is for the first time that Bihar government will have two Deputy Chief Ministers alongside seventh-time elected Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Tarkishore Prasad of BJP also will be another deputy chief minister.

Devi has been elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly for the fourth time from Bettiah constituency.

She acquired this seat after defeating Congress’ Madan Mohan Tiwari by a margin of 18,079 votes.

Renu Devi began her political journey in 1981, while she was associated with an NGO and officially joined the BJP in 1988 as a part of the women’s wing.

In 1989, she was chosen as the BJP’s head of women’s wing for the Champaran region. In 1993, she was appointed as the head of the state’s ‘Mahila Morcha’, a post she was reappointed to in 1996. She was appointed as the vice president of the party in 2014.

She also served as the former Vice President of BJP and Sports and Culture minister in Nitish Kumar’s second-term cabinet between 2005-2009.