Devyani takes cue from Devender Rana to nurture his political bastion Nagrota

Jammu, Nov 18: It has been over a fortnight since the Nagrota assembly segment lost its effervescent yet very committed elected representative, Devender Rana, sadly and suddenly on October 31.

His demise, at the early age of 59, came just four days ahead of the maiden assembly session of J&K after it was turned into a Union Territory. The loss was irreparable and monumental for his party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had discovered a potent weapon in him against its (BJP’s) political opponents and equally for J&K, which was robbed of a sanguine politician, who shared bonhomie across political spectrum.

But it (loss) was immeasurable for Nagrota, Rana’s citadel in J&K politics and its people, who lost in his demise a genial, ever-accessible and empathetic representative – a rarity in the contemporary political milieu.

No wonder, they (Nagrota electorate) had manifested their colossal loss through their poignant emotions and tributes in an unfiltered manner on November 1 – the day their beloved leader and MLA was accorded the final adieu. The seat for the Nagrota assembly segment has fallen vacant. At an appropriate time, it is bound to get its new representative, who, however, will have the gigantic task of filling the big shoes of a “man of masses.”

However, recent developments have brought some positive indicators, certainly for the Nagrota people. One hopes they (indicators) will enthuse the party (BJP) as well, though one cannot vouch for its “action” on that account as it’s too early to make any prophetic statement.

What is imbuing hope and positivity for Nagrota is a genuine and simple endeavour by young Devyani Rana- the daughter of Devender Rana to connect to people, who were treated as “part of self” by her illustrious father, all through his lifetime. Glimpses were there to spread sparkle across as Devyani recently tried to pick threads of “intrinsic bond” with Nagrota people exactly from where her father suddenly left.

Directly addressing them (people) the other day, probably her maiden venture, Devyani was simple in her approach as she shared a “solemn vow” of her father with the people of “his assembly segment Nagrota.”

“The most significant promise Rana Sahib had extracted from us was that the doors of our house always remained open for people; be it morning, afternoon, evening or night. They shall always remain so,” she said.

Reference was, in particular, to the people of Nagrota, which he (Rana) had nurtured as his bastion since he got elected for the first time in 2014 as a National Conference (NC) legislator and probably even prior to that.

The deceased leader won the mandate second time in 2024 from his stranglehold on the BJP mandate, which he had joined in 2021 after severing around 2-decade ties with NC. Significantly, it was not a simple victory but it was a win with a record margin – the highest in the 2024 J&K assembly elections. This enviable feat of her father too finds mention in Devyani’s address, poignantly.

“His (Rana’s) happiness would know no bounds when people used to greet him for his stunning, epoch-making victory with the highest margin in J&K assembly elections. He would humbly accept their greetings and compliments with folded hands and a single liner – ‘This (highest victory margin) only manifested Nagrota people’s love and blessings for him’,” she recalls.

“It is the same affection that has drawn me too, towards you and I’m here before you,” she strikes the right emotional chord with people, who may be her prospective electorate.

The gathering, comprising both men and women, listened to her in rapt attention as her words came straight from the heart.

One can experience a surge of emotions, particularly in Devyani’s voice as she continues, “Today as you have come to be part of this gathering, I extend wholehearted gratitude, on my as well as Sahib’s (Devender Rana’s) behalf. A compassionate and affable person like Rana Sahib was not just a political stalwart but a nobleman, secular to the core of his heart. He would never discriminate among people (on any basis); he would hold no grudges against anyone.”

“Anyone who came to him for any help would not go empty-handed. He (Rana) would not only wholeheartedly embrace such persons in distress but would leave no stone unturned to redress their grievances. You would not come across such a person with a heart of gold anywhere; in any corner of the world; neither in the past nor in future,” as she uses superlative expressions to define her late father’s qualities of head and heart, her voice gets completely choked.

Then Devyani delves deep into her father’s poignant memories as a “man representing his Nagrota constituency’s aspirations.”

“Whenever Rana Sahib came back home, his heart and mind would be overwhelmed by a single thought – how he could ensure the progress of Nagrota and its people; how he could make it certain that every child of Nagrota had access to education. Within a few days, he got a Government Degree College and a Health Centre sanctioned by the administration of LG Sahib,” she reminisces. Pauses in her address are enough to convey that she is trying hard to maintain her composure against surging emotions.

“This was his (Rana’s) firm belief that his growth (as a man of the masses) and Nagrota’s development were intrinsically linked. Today as we stand in front of you here it is because of that vow, which he had extracted from us. He had made us promise that all the works undertaken by him in Nagrota should never stop. They (works initiated by him) should continue to progress without any hitch and should be accomplished, come what may,” a daughter promises to take forward her father’s legacy.

An effort to engage people and her poise were worth noticeable, with a question lingering on - Is Nagrota engaged in a tête-à-tête with its potential representative?