Bima Bharti (born 1 January 1973) is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

politician and the former Minister of Sugarcane Industries in the

Government of Bihar Bihar Government is the State governments of India, state government of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Bihar and its nine Divisions of Bihar, divisions which consist of Districts of Bihar, districts. It consists of an execut ...

. She is a leader of the

Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, mainly based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has traditionally been Other ...

since 2024 after leaving

Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a Social democracy, social-democratic and secular List of political parties in India, Indian political party, rooted mainly in East India, eastern and Northeast India, ...

. She was a member of

Bihar Legislative Assembly The Bihar Legislative Assembly, also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is ...

elected as the representative of the Rupauli constituency 4 times from November 2000 onward. Shankar Singh had defeated her in February 2005 but she was re-elected again in October 2005.

Political career

Bima Bharti began her political career in 2000. She contested as an independent candidate from the Rupauli constituency and was elected to the

. Subsequently, she became a member of the

. In the February 2005 election, she lost the seat to Shankar Singh of the

Lok Janshakti Party The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP, ) was a state political party mainly based in the state of Bihar, India. The party was formed in 2000 when Ram Vilas Paswan split from Janata Dal. The party had a considerable following amongst Dalits in Bihar. ...

but in the following October election, she was able to win back the seat. She subsequently quit the

and joined the

before the

2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election The Bihar legislative assembly election, 2010 was held in six phases over a period of one month starting from 21 October until 20 November in all 243 constituencies of Bihar, India. The election is conducted to elect the government in Bihar for ...

. She was re-elected in 2010 and again in 2015 as a member of the

.She has resigned from

and joined Rastriya Janta Dal (RJD) ahead of

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

. Bima Bharti contested from

Purnia Lok Sabha constituency Purnia (formerly Purnea) is one of the 40 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Bihar state in eastern India. Assembly segments Presently, Purnia Lok Sabha constituency comprises the following six Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) segm ...

as RJD candidate and lost to Independent Candidate

Pappu Yadav Rajesh Ranjan (born 24 December 1967) popularly known as Pappu Yadav, is an Indian politician from Bihar, and a member of Parliament (MP) representing Purnia constituency in Bihar. Emerging from a background linked to crime, Yadav transitio ...

. She contested as RJD candidate in Rupauli constituency by poll and stood at third place.

Personal life

Bharti is married to Awadhesh Mandal who was convicted of

intimidation Intimidation is a behaviour and legal wrong which usually involves deterring or coercing an individual by threat of violence. It is in various jurisdictions a crime and a civil wrong (tort). Intimidation is similar to menacing, coercion, terro ...

of witnesses in a murder case. In January 2015, she helped her husband, who had multiple criminal cases against him, escape from jail. Her 21-year-old son was discovered dead in August 2018. Another son was beaten in 2019. Bharati is an animal lover, in 2023, she came into limelight after she took out funeral procession of her pet dog.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bharti, Bima Janata Dal (United) politicians Bihar MLAs 2015–2020 Bihar MLAs 2010–2015 People from Purnia district Living people Women members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly 21st-century Indian women politicians Bihar MLAs 2020–2025 1973 births Rashtriya Janata Dal politicians