Renu Devi
{{Short description| Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Renu Devi
| image = Renu Devi Deputy CM.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| alt =
| caption =
| office = 7th Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar
| term_start = 16 November 2020
| term_end = 9 August 2022
| predecessor = Sushil Kumar Modi
| alongside = Tarkishore Prasad
| successor = Tejashwi Yadav
| 1blankname = Chief Minister
| 1namedata = Nitish Kumar
| office1 = Minister of Backward Classes & Extremely Backward Classes Welfare
Government of Bihar
| term_start1 = 16 November 2020
| term_end1 = 9 August 2022
| predecessor1 = Binod Kumar Singh
| successor1 =
| 1blankname1 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata1 = Nitish Kumar
| office2 = Minister of Disaster Management
Government of Bihar
| term_start2 = 9 February 2021
| term_end2 = 9 August 2022
| predecessor2 = Tarkishore Prasad
| successor2 =
| 1blankname2 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata2 = Nitish Kumar
| office3 = Minister of Industry
Government of Bihar
| term_start3 = 16 November 2020
| term_end3 = 9 February 2021
| predecessor3 = Shyam Rajak
| successor3 = Shahnawaz Hussain
| 1blankname3 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata3 = Nitish Kumar
| office4 = Minister of Panchayat Raj
Government of Bihar
| term_start4 = 16 November 2020
| term_end4 = 9 February 2021
| predecessor4 = Kapil Deo Kamat
| successor4 = Samrat Chaudhary
| 1blankname4 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata4 = Nitish Kumar
| office5 = Minister of Art, Culture & Youth Affairs
Government of Bihar
| term_start5 = 13 April 2008
| term_end5 = 26 November 2010
| predecessor5 = Janardan Singh Sigriwal
| successor5 = Sukhada Pandey
| 1blankname5 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata5 = Nitish Kumar
| office6 = Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly
| term_start7 = 2000
| term_end7 = 2015
| predecessor6 = Madan Mohan Tiwari
| term_start6 = 2020
| constituency6 = Bettiah
| constituency7 = Bettiah
| majority =
| predecessor7 = Birval Yadava
| successor7 = Madan Mohan Tiwari
| birth_place = Bettiah, Bihar, India
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|11|01|df=y}}{{cite web |title=बिहार विधान सभा सचिवालय - सप्तदश बिहार विधान सभा मे माननीय सदस्यों की जन्म तिथि एवं टर्मवार सूची |url=https://vidhansabha.bih.nic.in/pdf/priority%20List.pdf |website=Bihar Vidhan Sabha |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427090929/https://vidhansabha.bih.nic.in/pdf/priority%20List.pdf |archive-date=27 April 2023 |url-status=live |language=Hindi}}
| party = Bharatiya Janata Party
| spouse = Durga Prasad (died)
| children = 2
| alma_mater = B. R. Ambedkar Bihar University
| termend =
| termend2 =
| termend1 =
}}
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 became the fifth female Deputy Chief Minister of India from Bihar in 2020.{{Cite news|url= https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/nov/16/nitish-kumar-takes-oath-as-bihar-cm-for-fourth-consecutive-term-renu-devi-first-woman-deputy-cm-2224191.html|title= Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for fourth consecutive term; Renu Devi first woman deputy CM |website=The Indian Express}}{{dead link|date=February 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} 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.{{Cite web | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Thakur-Chaurasia-dropped-from-Shahs-team/articleshow/40324830.cms | title=Thakur, Chaurasia dropped from Shah's team | work=The Times of India | date=14 August 2014 | access-date=21 October 2014 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904065711/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Thakur-Chaurasia-dropped-from-Shahs-team/articleshow/40324830.cms | archive-date=4 September 2014 }}{{Cite web | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bjp-president-amit-shah-announces-new-team-varun-gandhi-dropped-as-general-secretary/article1-1252635.aspx | title=BJP chief Amit Shah announces new team, Varun Gandhi dropped as general secretary | work=Hindustan Times | date=16 August 2014 | access-date=21 October 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021020028/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bjp-president-amit-shah-announces-new-team-varun-gandhi-dropped-as-general-secretary/article1-1252635.aspx | archive-date=21 October 2014 }}{{Cite web | url=http://www.bjp.org/organisation/office-bearers | title=Bhartiya Janata Party National Office Bearers | publisher=Bhartiya Janata Party | access-date=21 October 2014 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022002728/http://www.bjp.org/organisation/office-bearers | archive-date=22 October 2014 }}{{Cite web | url=http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/New-Team-BJP-BSY-is-VP-Ram-Madhav-G-Sec-Varun-Dropped/855568 | title=New Team BJP: BSY is VP, Ram Madhav G. Sec, Varun Dropped | publisher=Outlook | date=16 August 2014 | access-date=21 October 2014 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823114002/http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/New-Team-BJP-BSY-is-VP-Ram-Madhav-G-Sec-Varun-Dropped/855568 | archive-date=23 August 2014 }}{{Cite web | url=http://www.elections.in/bihar/assembly-constituencies/bettiah.html | title=Sitting and previous MLAs from Bettiah Assembly Constituency | publisher=elections.in | access-date=21 October 2014 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107102305/http://www.elections.in/bihar/assembly-constituencies/bettiah.html | archive-date=7 November 2014 }}{{Cite web|title=Nitish Kumar allocates Bihar portfolios: Here's the full list of cabinet ministers {{!}} freepressjournal|url=https://m.freepressjournal.in/article/india/nitish-kumar-allocates-bihar-portfolios-heres-the-full-list-of-cabinet-ministers-2/a80b791a-2d5a-4567-ad11-8e4513a34e27|access-date=2020-11-18|website=m.freepressjournal.in|archive-date=13 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913162245/https://m.freepressjournal.in/article/india/nitish-kumar-allocates-bihar-portfolios-heres-the-full-list-of-cabinet-ministers-2/a80b791a-2d5a-4567-ad11-8e4513a34e27|url-status=dead}}
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Personal life
Renu, eldest of her parents' three sons and five daughters, comes from the Noniya caste, an extremely backward Class (EBC) community.{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/bihar-assembly-polls-2020/story/nitish-kumar-oath-taking-who-are-tarkishore-prasad-and-renu-devi-two-deputy-cm-probables-1741259-2020-11-16|title= Nitish Kumar oath taking: Who are Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, two deputy CM probables?|website=The Indian Express}} She completed secondary school education in 1977 from the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}
She was married to a Kolkata-based insurance inspector named Durga Prasad in 1973.{{Cite news|url=https://m.hindustantimes.com/india-news/1st-woman-dy-cm-rss-veteran-to-be-the-second-in-command-in-bihar/story-VsbXVKK8ZAQubTcRDaEjxO.html|title= 1st woman dy CM, RSS veteran to be the second-in-command in Bihar |website=Hindustan Times}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.jansatta.com/rajya/renu-devi-chosen-bjp-legislature-deputy-leader-is-rss-connected-can-become-deputy-cm-with-tarkishore-prasad-who-has-been-chosen-leader-news-and-updates/1571735/|title= Renu Devi From Extremely Backward Caste Becomes First Woman Deputy CM of Bihar|website=Jansatta}} 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.{{Cite news|url= https://www.livehindustan.com/bihar/story-bihar-deputy-chief-minister-renu-devi-profile-3630336.html|title= बिहार की नई उप-मुख्यमंत्री होंगी रेणु देवी, जानिए उनके बारे में |website=LiveHindustan}} Renu Devi was also part of Durga Vahini, the women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.{{Cite web|date=2020-11-16|title=From Durga Vahini to Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar: The Journey of Renu Devi|url=https://www.news18.com/news/politics/from-durga-vahini-to-deputy-chief-minister-of-bihar-the-journey-of-renu-devi-3086111.html|access-date=2020-11-18|website=News18}}
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.{{Cite news|url= https://www.thequint.com/news/politics/mahila-morcha-to-bihar-dy-cm-renu-devis-32-years-with-the-bjp |title= Mahila Morcha to Bihar Deputy CM: Renu Devi's 32 Years with BJP|website=The Quint}}
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. Her appointment in 2020 as a Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar has been positively received.{{Cite news|url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/renu-devi-from-extremely-backward-caste-becomes-first-woman-deputy-cm-of-bihar/?__twitter_impression=true|title= Renu Devi From Extremely Backward Caste Becomes First Woman Deputy CM of Bihar|website=She The People}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/bihar/article/renu-devi-bihars-first-woman-deputy-cm-is-rss-womens-wing-leader-bjps-counterweight-to-nitishs-clout/683526|title= Renu Devi, Bihar's first woman Deputy CM is RSS women's wing leader; BJP's counterweight to Nitish's clout|website= Times Now|date= 18 November 2020|access-date=2020-11-18}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/elections/news-who-is-renu-devi-bihar-bjp-deputy-chief-minister-665114|title= Who is Renu Devi: BJP's surprise pick as Bihar's deputy Chief Minister|website= India Tv|date= 16 November 2020|access-date=2020-11-16}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.femina.in/trending/achievers/meet-renu-devi-first-woman-to-be-deputy-cm-of-bihar-177881.html|title= Meet Renu Devi, First Woman To Be Deputy CM of Bihar|website= Femina|language=hi |access-date=2020-11-17}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Bharatiya Janata Party}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Renu}}
Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Bihar
Category:State cabinet ministers of Bihar
Category:People from West Champaran district
Category:Women members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly
Category:Deputy chief ministers of Bihar
Category:20th-century Indian women
Category:20th-century Indian people