Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 15: Ending all speculation and rumours, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced Devyani Rana as its candidate for the upcoming by-election to the prestigious Nagrota Assembly constituency, and Aga Syed Mohsin as its candidate for the Budgam Assembly seat. The names of both candidates were approved by the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) and officially released from the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.
Pertinently, Devyani Rana is the daughter of late Devender Singh Rana, who earlier represented the Nagrota constituency, while Aga Syed Mohsin is a senior BJP leader from Budgam.
Party sources said the BJP leadership decided to field Devyani Rana to consolidate the sympathy wave in her favour following her father’s demise. Though two senior leaders — Nand Kishore Sharma and Anil Sharma — had also staked their claims to the ticket, the party preferred the young and politically new Devyani to connect with voters emotionally and carry forward her father’s legacy.
Since her father’s passing, Devyani Rana has been actively engaging with the people of Nagrota. In January this year, she was appointed Vice-President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) for Jammu and Kashmir — a move seen as part of the BJP’s strategy to groom her for a larger political role and continue the family’s public service tradition.
The Nagrota Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of Devender Singh Rana, who had won the constituency with the highest victory margin in Jammu and Kashmir during the 2024 Assembly elections. Tragically, before taking the oath as an MLA, he passed away on October 31, 2024, at the age of 59, after a prolonged illness.
Rana, the brother of Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, had been undergoing treatment at a hospital before his demise.
A successful businessman-turned-politician, Rana built a multi-crore enterprise from the ground up before joining active politics. Known as a staunch advocate for the Dogra community, he was re-elected to the Assembly for a second term from Nagrota.
His political journey began with the National Conference (NC), where he rose to prominence as a key strategist and advisor. As the Provincial President of NC, he was instrumental in strengthening the party’s base in the Jammu region. A close aide of Omar Abdullah, Rana played a central role in shaping the NC’s political strategy in the area.
In his debut Assembly election in 2014, Rana contested from Nagrota — then considered a BJP bastion — and caused a major upset by defeating Nand Kishore Sharma, brother of BJP stalwart and Lok Sabha member Jugal Kishore Sharma, thus securing the seat for the National Conference.
On October 6, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for by-elections to the Nagrota and Budgam Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, alongside the Bihar Assembly elections.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar informed that polling for the two J&K constituencies will be held on November 11, while counting of votes will take place on November 14.
The Budgam seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated it to retain the Ganderbal seat, having won from both constituencies in the 2024 Assembly elections. The Nagrota seat became vacant following the demise of BJP leader Devender Singh Rana on October 31 last year. |
