J&K loses one of its brilliant luminaries

Festival of joy and lights, Deepawali in 2024 brought extremely sad news in its fold. J&K lost one of its brightest political luminaries in the untimely demise of BJP’s seasoned leader and MLA Nagrota, Devender Rana on October 31. He was just 59.

Known as an affable, compassionate individual, Rana had carved a niche for himself as a witty, intelligent politician, who had friends cutting across political affiliations.

A crucial loss for the BJP came just days ahead of the J&K Assembly’s maiden session.

Devender Rana, the younger brother of the Union Minister of State in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, in the assembly elections, had created waves by winning the Nagrota assembly segment with the highest margin of 30472 votes, defeating National Conference’s Joginder Singh. Rana had won this seat earlier in 2014, resisting the strong Modi wave, as a National Conference candidate.

His demise, however, also saw chill breaking between two estranged friends. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah paid glowing tributes to his once-trusted Lieutenant-turned-estranged friend and political foe (Rana) through emotional posts.

Another positive development, though following the spectre of grief, was the ‘quiet arrival’ of Devender Rana’s daughter Devyani Rana, raising hopes that she would prove to be a ‘deserving political heir’ to his illustrious father.

So far, she has maintained a low profile, only fulfilling the wish of her late father to be in touch with his electorate of Nagrota constituency, like his ‘extended family.’