Acting chairman of Bihar Legislative Council Salim Parwez presents a bouquet to Rabri Devi after she took an oath as an MLC in Patna on Monday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, May 7: Former chief minister Rabri Devi today resumed her legislative career, watching silently how the political matrix had turned upside down in a matter of a few years.

Rabri watched her former cabinet colleagues, Narendra Singh and Bhim Singh, too, taking oath with her as members of the Legislative Council. But this time, they were legislators of Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), which in alliance with the BJP, dislodged Rabri from power about six years ago.

In the front row of the Legislative Council’s extended lobby, Rabri, attired in a shining blue sari, was sitting with Narendra Singh and Bhim Singh, both ministers in the Nitish cabinet. An old friend of Lalu Prasad, Narendra was seen chatting with Rabri animatedly. But the former chief minister looked subdued. The sign of losing power was evident on her demure face.

Though senior party colleagues Abdul Bari Siddiqui and Ramchandra Purbey were there to greet her, there were none to touch her feet.

On the other hand, Nitish was crowded with cadres, including women and newly elected MLCs, who were touching his feet and offering flowers.

Among the others who took oath today included the chief minister, his deputy, Sushil Kumar Modi of the BJP, Ramashray Prasad Singh, Sanjay Singh, Upendra Prasad all three from the JD(U) and Satyendra Narayan Singh, Mangal Pandey and Lalbabu Prasad from the BJP.

On the other side, Nitish and Modi were sitting next to each other in the front row parallel to Rabri’s. The duo did not talk much and looked grave. However, Nitish had a flood of supporters and cadres rushing to garland him or touch his feet soon after he took oath.

Modi and other ministers, too, had their share of supporters milling to greet them unlike Rabri who stayed mostly alone. Recently, the mother of nine children, created a storm in the state’s political circle by declaring that her party would get her daughters into politics too. Her younger son Tejaswi is likely to take over as the RJD’s youth wing president soon.

However, besides losing power, she is believed to be becoming a source of silent resentment in the RJD too. The political circles are agog with the talks that she would replace Ghulam Ghaus as the Leader of Opposition in the Council. Apparently, Ghaus might be in the uncomfortable position with Rabri’s induction in the Council.

Eleven MLCs, who were elected last month, took the oath of office and secrecy administered by JD(U) leader and Council deputy chairman Salim Parwez.

Nitish, who was elected as an MLC, for the second consecutive term had batted for the role of MLCs claiming that they should represent all the districts falling in their constituencies during official meetings on development plans at the district-level.