Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Nagrota MLA Devendra Singh Rana died on Thursday in a private hospital in Faridabad, Haryana. He was 59 years old. According to a senior leader associated with the party, Devendra was undergoing treatment in the hospital for several days. Apart from his wife Gunjan Rana, he is survived by his two daughters Devyani and Ketki and son Adhiraj Singh.
As soon as the news of MLA Rana’s demise spread, a large number of leaders reached his residence in Gandhinagar area of Jammu. Union Minister Jitendra Singh also reached his house. Jitendra Singh is his elder brother. Devendra entered politics from business and built a business worth crores of rupees. He was considered a strong voice of the Dogra community of Jammu.
Did engineering from NIT Kurukshetra
In the recent assembly elections held in Jammu and Kashmir, Devendra Singh Rana was elected to the assembly for the second time from Nagrota seat of Jammu district. Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha expressed condolences on his demise. “With his demise, we have lost a patriotic and respected leader who was committed to the well-being of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the LG’s office wrote on social media. I express my deepest condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti.” Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Chaudhary also expressed grief over his demise. Many other veterans of the state also expressed grief.
Born in 1965 in a Dogra family in Doda district of Jammu, he was the son of former bureaucrat Rajinder Singh Rana and younger brother of Union Minister Jitendra Singh. After completing his degree in civil engineering from NIT Kurukshetra, Devendra Singh Rana entered the world of business and opened his own automobile company.
He started the multi-crore enterprise Jamkash Vehicles Group and cable TV channel, and established himself as a successful entrepreneur in Jammu and Kashmir.
Lived in NC for 2 decades before BJP
Rana started his political career with the National Conference (NC), where he worked prominently as a key strategist and advisor. He also expanded the base of the party in Jammu as the provincial president of the party. He was once a very trusted aide of Omar Abdullah. He was considered to have great influence among the Muslims in Jammu, especially the Gujjar community.
In his first attempt for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Devendra Singh contested from Nagrota Assembly seat – considered a BJP stronghold – and won it for the National Conference by defeating three-time MP Jugal Kishore Sharma of the BJP. . However, after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, he became a vocal supporter of it, going against the party line and calling for restoration of statehood specifically for the Jammu region. In October 2021, after more than 2 decades with NC, he resigned from the party and joined BJP.
