Janata Dal (United)’s newly elected MLA, Vibha Devi, faced challenges in reading her oath during the first session of the Bihar Assembly following the state elections. Reportedly, she sought assistance from fellow MLA Manorama Devi, who guided her through the oath-taking process.
Vibha Devi, the spouse of former MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav, won the Nawada seat by defeating RJD’s Kaushal Yadav with a margin of 27,594 votes. In her election affidavit for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, she declared total assets worth approximately ₹31 crore.
Her liabilities amount to ₹5.2 crore, primarily consisting of loans, while her annual income is reported at ₹1.1 crore, sourced from agriculture and other avenues. The affidavit indicates that her immovable assets are valued at ₹23.53 crore, predominantly from extensive agricultural land across Nawada and Arwal districts.
Her movable assets are valued at ₹7.51 crore, including ₹1.5 lakh in cash, ₹2.5 crore in bank fixed deposits and savings, and ₹4.5 crore in shares, mutual funds, and bonds. Additionally, she possesses gold jewellery weighing around 800 grams and silver valued at nearly ₹50 lakh.
Vibha Devi, identifying as a literate housewife and agriculturist from Nawada, entered politics as a proxy for her incarcerated husband, leveraging the family’s strong influence among the Yadav caste in the region. Her political career began in 2019 when she ran for the Lok Sabha from Nawada on an RJD ticket but lost to LJP’s Chandan Singh.
Undeterred, she secured a seat in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections as an RJD candidate, defeating BJP’s Binod Yadav by over 26,000 votes. This victory marked her as the first woman MLA from her family, utilizing her husband’s legacy to consolidate support from Yadav and backward caste voters.
In early 2025, following her husband’s acquittal and release from jail, Vibha Devi transitioned from the RJD to JD(U) based on ideological differences, aligning herself with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s development agenda. Upon her resignation, she remarked, “I have given a resignation from the position of MLA…CM Nitish Kumar has done good work in Nawada and Bihar. He will continue to do the same…The public looks for development.”
Positioning herself as a relatable “housewife-turned-leader,” she has been active in supporting women’s self-help groups, organizing free medical camps, and driving school enrollment initiatives, especially within Yadav and backward-caste villages. Between 2021 and 2024, Vibha Devi advocated for higher agricultural subsidies, improved crop insurance coverage, and timely relief for farmers in the flood-prone Nawada region, directly impacting thousands of farming households.
The NDA achieved a historic victory in the 2025 Bihar assembly polls, winning 202 of the 243 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan secured only 35. The ruling coalition attained a three-fourths majority, marking the second instance the NDA crossed the 200-seat threshold in state elections. Within the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, followed by Janata Dal (United) with 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) with 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) with five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha capturing four seats.
(With inputs from agencies)
