Former Bihar Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council Rabri Devi on Thursday vacated the government bungalow at 10 Circular Road, ending a nearly two-decade stay at a residence that had long been at the centre of Bihar’s political landscape. She has shifted with her family to their private residence in Kautilya Nagar, Patna.
Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, has moved with his family to the government residence at 1 Polo Road, Patna.
Rabri Devi was allotted the government bungalow at 10 Circular Road in 2006 after she became the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council.
Over the past two decades, the bungalow served as a key centre of social justice politics in Bihar and became closely identified with the Lalu-Rabri family. RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav took several key political decisions from the residence, and the family witnessed many significant political developments and upheavals while living there.
It was from this bungalow that Tejashwi Yadav began his political journey, eventually taking the oath as Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister twice. As the state’s political landscape evolved, the residence remained at the centre of political attention.
The RJD had accused the Samrat Choudhary-led government of acting out of political vendetta in seeking to have the bungalow vacated. The government, however, maintained that the process was carried out in accordance with established rules.
The government has allotted a new official residence to Rabri Devi at 39 Hardinge Road. However, furnishing work at the bungalow has not yet been completed.