Rabri is RJD apex body vice-president

Incarcerated RJD chief Lalu Prasad has appointed his wife, Rabri Devi, as the vice-president of the party’s newly created national executive.

Rabri Devi, a former chief minister of Bihar, shares the position with party leaders Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Shivanand Tiwary, Illiyas Hussain and Magni Lal Mandal. Their children – Tej Pratap, Tejashwi and Misa Bharti – have also been granted membership of the apex body.

Party insiders believe Rabri Devi’s elevation was a politically significant move intended to further empower her in the party at a time when Prasad is lodged at Ranchi jail. Till now, Rabri Devi had only been a member of the national executive in the capacity of a former chief minister.

Prasad had called a national executive meeting November last year with the express purpose of getting himself re-elected as the party chief. Although a resolution to make Tejashwi the next chief ministerial face reportedly failed to go down well with senior leaders, no dissension surfaced.

Prasad has now decided to retain old loyalists in the national executive without bringing in new faces – a clear indication that he doesn’t want to ruffle feathers at a time when there are threats of a split. A few leaders, including state spokesperson Ashok Sinha, quit the party recently.

PATNA: