Misa Bhatti is an Indian politician and the eldest daughter of Indian politicians Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi. She has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2016.
Wiki/Biography
Misa Bharti was born in Patna, Bihar in 1976 (now 48 years old, born in 2024). In 2000, she completed her MBBS degree from Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) and passed the MBBS examination with distinction in gynaecology and ENT. Even after topping the MBBS examination, Misa did not pursue a career in medicine and chose to follow in her father’s footsteps and entered politics in 2014.
appearance
Height: 5′ 5″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Misabharti left after meeting her ailing father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
Family and caste
Misa Bharti was born into a Shudra family.
Parents and siblings
Misa Bharti is the eldest daughter of Lalu Yadav and Rabri Yadav. Both her parents served as the Chief Minister of Bihar for nearly 15 years. She has eight siblings: two brothers; Tejashwi Yadav (politician) and Tej Pratap Yadav (politician), and six sisters; Rohini Acharya, Chanda Singh, Ragini Yadav, Hema Yadav, Anushka Rao and Raj Laxmi.
Misa Bharti with her parents and siblings at the engagement ceremony of her youngest brother Raj Laxmi in 2015
Husband and children
Misa’s father, Lalu Yadav, arranged Misa’s marriage to Shailesh Kumar, a computer engineer from the same caste as Lalu Yadav’s family. On December 10, 1999, Misa and Shailesh Kumar tied the knot.
Misa Bharti with her husband and parents on her wedding day
The couple has three children together – Durga (daughter), Gauri (daughter) and a son (born in 2016), whose name has not yet been made public.
Misa Bharti with her husband and daughter
Misa Bharti with her 7-year-old daughter Gauri and her mother Rabri Devi at their home in Patna
Misa Bharti with her son and daughter
Political career
Although Misa graduated in medicine, she was always interested in politics as she was born into an influential political family. She eventually started her political career in 2014 by contesting the 2014 Bataliputra Lok Sabha elections but failed.
Misa Bharti campaigned for the RJD with her father Lalu Yadav before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections
She lost to former RJD loyalist Ram Kripal Yadav, who joined the BJP after the RJD fielded Misa as its candidate from Bachchi constituency instead of Kripal. Misa said that poor preparation was the reason for her crushing defeat. In July 2016, Misa Bharti was elected to the Rajya Sabha and also the leader of the RJD in the Rajya Sabha. In 2016, she was appointed as a member of the Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Commission. In 2017, she was appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of External Affairs. After losing the 2014 elections from Bachchi constituency, she tried again to contest from the same seat in the 2019 general elections.
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Misa Bharti filed her nomination papers in the presence of her mother and senior party leader Rabri Devi in Patna.
Her opponent was still RJD rebel Ram Kripal Yadav. This time she again lost the constituency by a margin of 38,000 votes. She contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Bataliputra constituency and defeated BJP’s Ram Kripal Yadav by a margin of 85,174 votes.
dispute
- On March 7, 2015, Mitha Bharti posted a photo on her Facebook page showing her standing at a podium, appearing to address an audience, with a fictitious caption, “Harvard Vishwavidyalaya mein yuvaaon ki bhagidari ko lekar vyakhyaan dete hue” (Speech at Harvard on the role of young people). The story was also carried in several newspapers in Bihar. After the news broke, a Harvard official refuted her claims, saying that “Mitha Bharti was invited to the Harvard India Conference as an audience member and not as a speaker on any panel.” In response to this claim, Mitha also retracted her claim and said that she had never confirmed that she had been invited to the conference as a speaker; however, she had personally shared her views with delegates after the conference.
One of the photos Misa Bharti released to confirm her speech at Harvard University
- In September 2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had sealed a farmhouse owned by Mitha Bhatti and her husband Shailesh Kumar in Delhi’s Bijwasan area in connection with a money laundering case. Later, in 2019, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Appellate Tribunal quashed the attachment of the farmhouse.
- In January 2019, Mitha Bharti, while speaking at a political rally, made controversial remarks against RJD stalwart and current rival Ram Kripal Yadav, saying, “
We had a lot of respect for him (Ram Kripal Yadav). However, when he joined hands with Sushil Kumar Modi of the BJP, that respect disappeared… He always used to whittle away the chaff. At that time, I felt like chopping off his hands with the same chaff-whittling machine.”
- In 2019, her brother Tej Pratap’s ex-wife Aishwarya Rai blamed her for the failure of her marriage.
- On February 27, 2023, a Delhi court summoned Misa Bhatti, her parents Rabri Devi and Lalu Yadav, and other parties in a case related to an alleged land-for-job scam. The CBI had alleged in its charge sheet that Prasad’s family was allegedly given land compensation when he was railway minister from 2004 to 2009. On March 15, 2023, the court granted bail to Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi and Misa Bhatti on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each and one surety of the same amount. On January 9, 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a case against Misa Bhatti and her mother Rabri Devi; the case sheet was filed in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi. On February 28, 2024, she was granted bail by a Delhi court along with her sister Hema and mother.
net worth
According to Misa Bharti’s affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India in 2019, her net worth is 75.6 crore Indian rupees.
Facts/Trivia
- Misa is named after the controversial Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), for which her father Lalu Yadav was imprisoned during the Emergency. Lalu Yadav himself named her for his first daughter after he was released from jail.
Misa Bhatti and her mother in 1978
- In 1993, Misa failed the entrance examination to MGM Medical College in Jamshedpur; however, with the help of her father, who was the Chief Minister, she got admission under the TISCO quota.
- Misha’s wedding was so lavish that her parents launched an income tax investigation over the lavish expenses of the wedding.
- Misa willingly married Shailesh Kumar without even meeting him once. She talked about this in an interview and she said:
I blindly believed in my parents’ choice and I had only seen Shailesh’s photograph before marrying him. I first met him on the stage on my wedding day. Shailesh and his family have always been very supportive and I never had to choose between raising my children and politics.”
- Although Misa topped her MBBS exam, she did not pursue a career in medicine. Talking about what held her back from pursuing a career in medicine, she said:
I could not practise medicine because I got married right after passing the MBBS exam. With all the family responsibilities I had, it was impossible for me to continue my career as a doctor.”
- Misa is not only Lalu Yadav’s eldest daughter but also the first of his heirs to enter politics, having contested the 2014 general elections.
- According to Misha, she was an avid reader, movie buff and also an excellent cook.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education