Union Minister Jitendra Singh’s brother and senior BJP leader and MLA from Nagrota, Devendra Singh Rana (59), died at a private hospital in Faridabad, Haryana. According to a senior BJP leader, Rana was undergoing treatment at the hospital. As soon as the news of Rana’s death spread, political leaders and workers gathered at his residence in Gandhinagar area of Jammu.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also reached his house. Rana was a strong voice of the Dogra community of Jammu. Rana was recently re-elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from the Nagrota block area of Jammu district. He had won this seat for the second time.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has expressed condolences and grief over the sudden demise of MLA Devendra Singh Rana. He said that with the demise of Rana, we have lost a patriot and widely respected leader, who was committed to the welfare of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. I express my deepest condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti. Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary also expressed his condolences on the demise of senior BJP leader Devendra Rana.
He said that this news is especially disappointing on an auspicious day (Diwali). I express my condolences to his family and PMO Jitendra Singh ji on the loss of his younger brother. PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also expressed her condolences. She said that I am shocked to hear about the sudden demise of Devendra Rana ji. Deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. Jammu and Kashmir BJP said that his untimely demise is a great loss for the party and the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
May his soul rest in peace and may God give strength to his family to bear this irreparable loss. Congress National General Secretary and MLA Ghulam Ahmed Mir expressed grief and condolences on Rana’s death. Apart from this, other political leaders including Sajjad Lone, Junaid Mattoo, Sunil Sharma, Tarun Chugh, Sham Lal Sharma, Choudhary Zulfikar Ali also expressed their condolences on the demise of Rana.
Born in 1965 in a Dogra family in Jammu’s Doda district, Devendra Rana was the son of former bureaucrat Rajinder Singh Rana and brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh. After earning a degree in civil engineering from NIT Kurukshetra, he ventured into business and founded his own automobile company. He started the multi-crore venture Jamkash Vehicles Group and a cable TV channel and established himself as a top entrepreneur in Jammu and Kashmir. Rana started his political career with the National Conference (NC) where he rose to prominence as a key strategist and advisor and expanded the party’s base in Jammu as provincial president.
As a trusted aide of Omar Abdullah, he played a key role in shaping the party’s strategies in Jammu. In his first election to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Rana contested from the Nagrota assembly constituency, a BJP stronghold, and won it for the NC by defeating BJP’s Jugal Kishore Sharma. The win underlined his ability to connect with a diverse voter base.
He had earlier served as an MLC and as the provincial president of the NC since 2009. After the repeal of Article 370, Rana became a vocal supporter of the Jammu Declaration. He called for the restoration of statehood, especially for the Jammu region. His stance was different from the Gupkar alliance that sought the restoration of Article 370 and statehood for the entire Jammu and Kashmir region. In October 2021, after more than two decades with the NC, Rana resigned and joined the BJP. His deep roots in the Jammu region and close ties with local communities made him a key figure in Jammu and Kashmir politics, especially for the BJP.
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