Raghubar Das Age, Caste, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Other name	Raghuvar
Nickname	Babu
Profession	Politician
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 173 cm in meters- 1.73 m in feet & inches- 5’ 8”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black (Semi-bald)
Politics
Political Party	• Janata Party (1977-1980) • Bharatiya Janata Party (1980-2023)
Political Journey	• Joined the Janata Party in 1977 • Joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a founding member in 1980 Served as the booth manager of the BJP • Appointed as the Chief of the Sitaramdera unit of Jamshedpur • Appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Jamshedpur BJP • Appointed as the Vice-President of the Jamshedpur BJP • Appointed as the BJP National Secretary • Elected as an MLA from the Jamshedpur East seat of Bihar in 1995 • In 2000, he was appointed as the Labour & Employment Minister of Jharkhand • Appointed as the Jharkhand State President of the BJP in 2004 • Contested and won the Jharkhand State Assembly Elections from the Jamshedpur East Constituency in 2005 • Appointed as the Urban Development Minister and Commercial Tax Minister in the Arjun Munda government in 2005 • Contested and won the elections from the Jamshedpur East constituency of Jharkhand in 2009 • Appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of Jharkhand when Shibu Soren was the CM on 30 December 2009 • Appointed as the Vice-President of the BJP National Committee on 16 August 2014 • Contested and won the elections from the Jamshedpur East constituency of Jharkhand in 2014 • Sworn-in as the 6th Chief Minister of Jharkhand on 28 December 2014 • Contested and lost the elections from the Jamshedpur East constituency of Jharkhand in 2019 • Resigned from the Chief Minister's post after the BJP lost the majority in Jharkhand on 23 December 2019
Constitutional Posts
Post	26th Governor of Odisha (31 October 2023 - present)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	3 May 1955 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2024)	69 Years
Birthplace	Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh
Zodiac sign	Taurus
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
School	Harijan School, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
College/University	Jamshedpur Co-operative College, Jharkhand
Educational Qualification(s)	• Bachelor of Science • Bachelor of Laws
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Teli (OBC) [1]Deccan Herald
Address	• L6, Agrico Road, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand • House number 89, Line No – 3, Bhalubasa, Post Office - Agrico, Jamshedpur - 9, Jharkhand
Tattoo	He got a tattoo inked on his right arm.
Controversies	Details of Criminal Cases • 1 charge related to House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint (IPC Section-452) • 1 charge related to Resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension of another person (IPC Section-225) • 2 charges related to Punishment for Rioting (IPC Section-147) • 2 charges related to Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of a common object (IPC Section-149) • 1 charge related to Rioting, armed with a deadly weapon (IPC Section-148) • 1 charge related to Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (IPC Section-323) • 1 charge related to Obstructing public servants in the discharge of public functions (IPC Section-186) • 1 charge related to Disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant (IPC Section-188) • 1 charge related to Assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty (IPC Section-353) • 1 charge related to Punishment for wrongful Confinement (IPC Section-342) • 1 charge related to Resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension (IPC Section-224) [2]MyNeta Accused of Indulging in Malpractices In 2005, while Raghubar Das was serving as the Minister of Urban Development in Jharkhand, there were allegations that he favoured Meinhardt Singapore Private Limited by awarding them the Ranchi sewerage project and disregarding proposals made by other companies for the project. He was also accused of involvement in financial corruption. After the allegations, the legislative assembly formed a special committee, led by a BJP member, which found no irregularities in the contract award. In 2020, Chief Minister Hemant Soren made headlines when he transferred the case to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Jharkhand Police for investigation. The official statement of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) read, "Chief minister Hemant Soren on Thursday evening ordered an inquiry from the ACB on allegation of irregularities done by Raghubar Das, who was then state urban development minister and others, in the appointment of Meinhardt as a consultant for the drainage and sewerage project of Ranchi." Soren handed the case to the ACB after Jamshedpur East MLA Saryu Roy raised the issue through a letter. [3]The Telegraph Debate Surrounding Women Cleaning His Feet In 2017, during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Raghubar Das gained significant attention when a video surfaced on the internet. The video showed him seated in a chair while women washed his feet, and it was recorded during an event held in celebration of Guru Purnima. Following the video's circulation, Abha Sinha, the president of the Women's Wing of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, criticized him and demanded an apology. [4]The Times of India Making Remarks on Hemant Soren's Caste A complaint was filed by Soren against Das at the Dumka police station under the provisions of the SC/ST Act in 2019 after he targeted Hemant Soren during a rally during the state assembly elections' campaigning. In the rally, Das made derogatory remarks on Soren's caste. After lodging an FIR against Das, Soren said, "I have filed a complaint with the SC/ST police station in Dumka against the chief minister, who used objectionable words on my caste during a poll meeting at Jamtara’s Mihijam on Wednesday, His words hurt my feeling and honour. Is it an offence to take birth in a tribal family?" BJP Jharkhand Spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo supported Das, asserting that Hemant was attempting to falsely accuse Das in order to shift the focus away from his earlier offensive remarks about women made during a rally. [5]The Hindu
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Rukmani Devi (homemaker)
Children	Son- Lalit Kumar (assistant manager in Tata Steel) Daughter- Renu Sahoo
Parents	Father- Chavan Ram (former employee at Tata Steel) Mother- Sonbatti Das (homemaker)
Siblings	Brother(s)- 2 • Jagdev Sahu (younger; employee of the Labour and Planning Department in the Government of Jharkhand) • Mool Chand Sahu (younger; ESS worker at Tata Steel) Sister(s)- 7 • Premvati Bai • Mahari Bai • Dedu Bai
Style Quotient
Car Collection	Toyota Innova (2010 Model)
Money Factor
Assets/Properties	Movable Assets • Cash: Rs. 41,600 • Bank Deposits: Rs. 11,89,253 • Bonds, Debentures, and Shares in companies: Rs. 2,64,862 • Motor Vehicles: Rs. 2,75,000 • Jewellery: Rs. 59,675 Note: The given estimates of the movable assets are according to the year 2019. It excludes the assets owned by his wife and dependents. [6]MyNeta
Salary/Income (approx.)	Salary- Rs. 2,72,000 per month + other allowances (as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand) Income- Rs. 3,50,000 + other allowances (as the Governor of Odisha)
Net Worth (approx.)	Rs. 18,30,390 (as of 2019) [7]MyNeta Note: The net worth was for the year 2019. It excludes the net worth of his wife.

Some Lesser Known Facts About Raghubar Das

• Raghubar Das is an Indian politician from the BJP. He has served as the 6th Chief Minister of Jharkhand, and he is also the first non-tribal CM of Jharkhand. He took over the office of the Governor of Odisha in October 2023.

• According to Das, he did not perform well in Physics but was good in Math. He scored 99 out of 100 in the board exams of class 10.

• To monetarily assist his family, Das started working when he was in school. He initially worked as a daily wage labourer in Tata Steel. However, he left working there as he only got to work for three months in a year.

• He later worked at an electronics store following which he opened a coal stall, where he used to sell coal. In an interview, he talked about it and said,
  

  Father was a clerk. I also became a laborer in Tata, but got work only for three months in twelve months. In such a situation, an electrical goods shop was opened. Used to bring goods under the berth in the train compartment from Calcutta. Later the coal stall was opened. But always followed the path of right honesty.”

• During his college years, he became active in student politics and became a member of the student union. Due to his strong leadership abilities, he eventually rose to the position of the union’s president.

• He served a prison sentence at Gaya Jail in undivided Bihar under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tenure in the emergency from 1975 to 1977. During an interview, Raghubar disclosed that he opted not to take his BSc exams to join the protests led by Jayaprakash Narayan. He said,
  

  Father used to talk about concentrating on studies from the beginning. But when I entered student politics, there was no chance to return. Boycotted the exam and went to jail.”

  

  Raghubar Das in a group photo which was taken when he was young

• In an interview, Mool Chand, the younger sibling of Raghubar Das, said that their father, Chavan Ram, had reservations about Raghubar’s entry into politics. However, Chavan Ram granted his consent for Raghubar to pursue a political career after Raghubar was incarcerated during the emergency. He talked about it and said,
  

  Our father was not averse to politics. But he used to be angry when he took part in politics during his studies. However, when brother went to jail in the student movement of 1977, he got full support from father.”

• Following his release, he became a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

• As per Raghubar Das, he started learning how to operate a geared two-wheeler during his college years but discontinued it after an accident. Later, he decided to learn how to drive a gearless scooter. He, in an interview, talked about it and said,
  

  I Thought I should learn scooter also. A Sardarji was my friend. He owned a Lambretta and went out with him to learn scooter. After putting in gear near Jubilee Park Gate of Jamshedpur, when he took the accelerator too much, he could not control the scooter and fell with a crash on the road. The body was bruised. After that fear entered. Never drove a geared car.”

• After completing his formal education, he worked as a law professional at Tata Steel in Jamshedpur.

• He is one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 1980, he was a part of the first national committee meeting of the BJP in Mumbai.

• In the same year, he became a polling agent for the BJP candidate Dinanath Pandey.

• In the 1995 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, Raghubar Bas secured a victory by achieving 1,18,972 votes.

• Das does not have any property to his name. He is said to be a follower of Kabir.

• He is considered to be in the core team of Amit Shah.
  

  Raghubar Das with Amit Shah

• After being appointed as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Raghubar Das held the Ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, and Planning and Development.
  

  A photo of Raghubar Das taken while he was being administered the oath of the Chief Minister of Jharkhand

• Das made headlines in 2017 after he drove a gearless scooter without a helmet in Ranchi for which he was trolled online by the net users. According to sources, the netizens made fun of him as he had earlier directed the cops to fine citizens for not wearing helmets for their safety. ^[8]Jharkhand State News
  

  Raghubar Das riding a scooter without a helmet

• On 17 October 2019, while addressing a rally in Dhanbad, he used derogatory language while referring to the Congress. He said – “The Congress is a gang of “chirkuts,” “chottas” and “rain frogs” as they come out to make sounds only during elections.” ^[9]India Today

• On 23 December 2019, Das, along with other BJP leaders of Jharkhand, lost their seats in the Jharkhand Assembly Elections, and Das had to resign from the CM’s post; as the BJP could not retain the majority in the state.
  

  Raghubar Das submitting his resignation to Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu

• Reportedly, Das’ electoral defeat took place due to multiple factors, such as disregarding bureaucratic advice, a rise in incidents of mob lynching, insufficient emphasis on enhancing healthcare, education, and infrastructure, and overlooking the concerns of tribal communities. Following his election loss, it is said that the BJP marginalized him. He talked about it, in an interview, and said,
  

  Jaichands are present everywhere. And the party lost due to few Jaichands. At times conspiracy succeeds. But success through conspiracy does not last for long. I have struggled to rise through the ranks and reach here. Struggle gives you power.”

• The Government of India released an official notification announcing his appointment as the 26th Governor of Odisha in October 2023.
  

  Chief Justice of Odisha administering oath to Raghubar Das

• Following Raghubar Das’s swearing-in ceremony as the Governor of Odisha, he became emotional during an interview while remembering his past.

• In an interview, Das revealed that he loved cricket and football. He, however, left playing cricket after getting wounded during a match.

• According to Das, number 1101 is his lucky number as it was the margin of votes with which he won his first election in 1985. He also said, in an interview, that all his vehicles have registration numbers ending with the number 1101.

• As per Raghubar Das, he likes to try different types of street foods.