The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : `Laloo is the hero, I am the heroine'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 21, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

`Laloo is the hero, I am the heroine'

K. Balchand

PATNA

"I'm the heroine," declares the Chief Minister, Rabri Devi, as she hits the trail in support of her party's candidates across the State. It would be easy to dismiss this as just hype, but the truth is she might well be a bigger performer than her husband, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, Laloo Prasad Yadav, who recently maintained that none could excel him as an actor.

The fact that she was vested with the responsibility of holding the last roadshow in the Patna Lok Sabha constituency, underlines the confidence that the party and Mr. Yadav have in her abilities.

A shy, retiring woman, who was once content to run the Yadav household, she is now turning out to be a star in her own right. This is a radical break with the past, when Mr. Yadav had to repeatedly encourage her to play a role in public life. Of course, given her added political responsibilities, she limits her role at home to supervision of the details. Her children, after all, have grown up.

It is clear that Ms. Devi has matured as a politician. Consider the manner in which she has taken on the glamorous film star, Hema Malini, who is campaigning for the BJP. The Yadavs have scant respect for Bollywood actors roped in to drum up support for the political parties. As Ms. Devi puts it, "Mr. Yadav is the hero and I'm the heroine." The Bharatiya Janata Party may think it necessary to call on Bollywood stars to campaign for the party; not the RJD.

Ms. Devi's criticism of Ms. Hema Malini, the Basanti of Sholay fame, has a personal edge. The actress had dared to criticise the condition of the roads in Bihar. "How can she talk about the roads in the State when she has not used them at all," she asks, pointing out that Ms. Hema Malini had used helicopters while campaigning in Bihar. There is an element of the theatrical in her outbursts, which would do a seasoned actor proud.

Sitting in the front seat of the rath, which Mr. Yadav has used with elan, Ms. Devi displays some of the flair that has made her husband a household name across the country. There is a practised ease about the way she goes about seeking votes for Mr. Yadav and the RJD, which belies her image as a simpleton propped up by her husband.

"You are the maliks (masters), vote for us," she tells the crowd.

Ms. Devi's political sophistication comes through when she trains her guns on the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance — especially the `feel good' and `India shining' themes.

"The feel good factor prevails in Advaniji's home, and not in the countryside," she thunders. She blasts the 13 ministers of the NDA Government from Bihar saying that they had done little for the State other than waste their energies in trying to bring down her Government.

Though not well educated, she has the knack of reaching out to the voters. She teaches them how to use the electronic voting machine and tells them to be careful to punch the right button.

Ms. Devi addresses the rallies from her seat in the rath for most of the time, climbing atop the vehicle only on select occasions. She certainly appears to have learnt the tricks of the trade. Not surprisingly, her supporters believe she can teach Ms. Hema Malini a thing or two when it comes to the political stage.

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