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Devyani Rana, who entered active politics after her father’s death in October last year, was appointed the J&K vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in January. (Source: FB)
The Bharatiya Janata Party Wednesday announced Devyani Rana — daughter of late Nagrota MLA Devender Singh Rana — and Aga Syed Mohsin, a Shia Muslim leader from Kashmir, as its candidates for the upcoming assembly by-elections in Nagrota and Budgam constituencies of Jammu & Kashmir.
Devyani Rana, who entered active politics after her father’s death in October last year, was appointed the J&K vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in January.
A niece of Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh, Rana holds a degree in economics from the University of California. The eldest of three siblings — two sisters and a brother — she is a businesswoman who had been managing her father’s business even before his death. Since then, she has made regular visits to his constituency and was seen as a likely successor to the seat.
A two-time MLA, Devender Singh Rana was earlier with the National Conference and was considered the party’s prominent face in Jammu, often referred to as the ‘Voice of Jammu’. He resigned from the NC in 2021 after Kashmiri parties — including his own — united under the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) to protest the abrogation of Article 370.
Meanwhile, the BJP has named Aga Syed Mohsin as its candidate from Budgam, a district with a sizeable Shia population. The seat fell vacant after J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was also elected from the Ganderbal constituency in last year’s Assembly polls, chose to retain Ganderbal and vacate Budgam.
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