Devender Singh Rana, vocal voice of Jammu, passes away

Popular among masses across Jammu and Kashmir, senior leader of the BJP and recently elected MLA Devender Singh Rana who was once a close confidant of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah passed away due to prolonged illness at a hospital in Faridabad late on Thursday.

Passing away of Rana left the entire political and social circles in the state in a shock. Condolences cutting across party line s poured in as Rana was had friendly relations with most of the leaders.

He was earlier a National Conference (NC) leader but had switched to the BJP in 2021. The void created in the NC in Jammu region after his exit could not be filled even till now.

Condolences pour in

Untimely demise of my brother Devender Singh Rana is a deep personal loss, which is not only irreparable and painful, but the void created will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life. I sincerely thank all those standing by me and the family in these testing times. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister

I am deeply grieved to learn of the untimely demise of Shri Devender Singh Rana Ji. In his passing away, we have lost a patriotic & widely respected leader, who was committed to well-being of the people of J&K. Manoj Sinha, L-G, J&K

The terrible news isn’t really sinking in. I know the last few years have been marked by our differences, but I prefer to focus on the fun times we shared together, the excellent work we did together. You have been taken from us all too soon & will be missed. Omar Abdullah, CM, J&K

Omar Abdullah along with Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary attended the cremation of Rana at Shastri Nagar cremation ground in Jammu on Friday afternoon. Several other leaders attended the cremation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a statement on X said, “Shri Devender Singh Rana Ji’s untimely demise is shocking. He was a veteran leader, who worked diligently towards Jammu and Kashmir’s progress. He had just won the Assembly polls and had also played a noteworthy role in making the BJP stronger in J&K. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with his family and supporters. Om Shanti”.

Rana had won from the Nagrota constituency in the recently concluded Assembly polls. He won with the highest margin of over 30,000 votes in entire J&K. Even during the ‘Modi wave’ in 2014, Rana was able to win in the Assembly polls in Nagrota.

His close associates said he was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Faridabad where his health deteriorated. He is survived by his wife, Gunjan Rana, their daughters Devyani and Ketki, and son Adhiraj Singh.

J&K Congress chief, Tariq Hameed Karra said, “Deeply shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of Devinder Singh Rana, a visionary politician and exceptional human being. I vividly remember his encouraging words when I presented my first zero budget as Finance Minister of J&K, which was passed in the Assembly - he was the first to call and congratulate me on my presentation of the budget. Devinder Singh Rana's demise is a colossal loss to J&K, leaving an unfillable void”. Known for his entrepreneurship and political resilience, Rana was a strong voice of the Dogra community of Jammu. He represented not only Hindus but Muslim Gujjars who have substantial population in his constituency – Nagrota.

Rana was also an entrepreneur as he owned a dealership of a car brand and also ran a media house which is popular in J&K.

Rana was the frontrunner to become the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in J&K Assembly. The party leadership is expected to meet in Srinagar on Sunday to elect the LoP. Rana’s death is also likely to leave a void in the politics of Jammu as he was one of the tallest leaders of the region.