COURTESY HT NOV 17

1st woman dy CM, RSS veteran to be the second-in-command

Sandeep Bhaskar and Aditya Nath Jha

letters@hindustantimes.com

BETTIAH/KATIHAR : Tarkishore Prasad, a 64-year-old legislator from Katihar district and Renu Devi, a former minister and four-time MLA from Bettiah, took oath on Monday as deputy chief ministers of Bihar.

They replaced veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who was deputy CM of the state for 11 years.

Prasad, who was also elected leader of the BJP legislature party on Sunday, started his political career as a student leader in the anti-Emergency movement and has deep ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fount of the BJP.

He hails from the Vaishya community, and first won assembly elections in 2005, and has remained unbeaten since.

“This is a big responsibility and we will all work with our leadership for the betterment of Bihar and for the development of the people of the state,” Prasad said.

Devi, 61, started her political journey as a worker with the Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Hailing from the Noniya caste under the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) community, Devi – the first woman deputy CM of the state — attributed her success to god and the people of Bettiah. “Barely six years after my marriage in 1973, my husband passed away. It was sheer courage, conviction and determination bestowed by Almighty, support by the family and love and respect given by BJP that life has come full circle for me,” said Devi.

“It’s a big responsibility and I extremely thankful to my party leaders for giving me this opportunity,” she added.