Apni Party also fields candidates for by-elections
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Oct 15: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has declared Devyani Rana, the daughter of former MLA and senior leader, Late Devender Singh Rana as party candidate for by-elections of Nagrota Assembly segment of Jammu region and Aga Syed Mohsin for Budgam Assembly segment of the Kashmir valley.
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The announcement in this regard was made by BJP national general secretary and its Headquarter in charge, Arun Singh this morning along with the by-elections of three Assembly seats one each in Jharkhand, Odisha and Telengana.
Party sources said that the name of Devyani Rana and Aga Syed Mohsin were cleared by BJP’s Parliamentary Board on October 13 along with 71 candidates for Bihar Assembly elections.
The names of Bihar candidates were announced by the party yesterday while for the by-elections in four States including two seats of Jammu and Kashmir, the names of candidates were announced this morning.
Sources said that the Central Election Committee meeting was chaired by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and it was among others attended by BJP president, J P Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national general secretary (Organisation), B L Santosh.
Meanwhile, BJP UT president, Sat Sharma and party general secretary (Org) Ashok Koul also visited Delhi yesterday and held a meeting with Party president, J P Nadda, general secretary (Org), B L Santosh and general secretary incharge J&K and Ladakh UTs, Tarun Chugh.
The meeting discussed the party’s strategy for the October 24 Rajya Sabha elections as well as by-elections of the two Assembly seats of Nagrota and Budgam which will go to polls on November 11.
Sources said party leaders during the meeting exuded confidence of winning both the Assembly seats in the UT and also the names of star campaigners of the party for the Assembly by- polls were discussed with national leadership.
It may be recalled that BJP during its recent Core Group meeting in Jammu had recommended the name of Deyani Rana and party district president Jammu rural, Nand Kishore Sharma for Nagrota Assembly constituency as probable candidates. However, the High Command cleared the name of Devyani Rana for this prestigious seat which BJP had won in 2002, 2008 and 2024 elections.
Soon after the BJP announced her candidature for the Nagrota Assembly by-poll in Jammu today, Devyani Rana, sounded confident that she would script victory by a big margin, as jubilant workers and supporters thronged her residence and danced to the beats of Dhols.
The Nagrota seat fell vacant after the demise of Devender Singh Rana last October, while the by-poll in Budgam was necessitated after Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah vacated the seat and retained Ganderbal.
“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda, Sat Sharma, Tarun Chugh, and Ashok Koul for considering me worthy of contesting from Nagrota,” Devyani told reporters.
Her candidature was not just a ticket announcement but “a great opportunity to carry forward the visions and initiatives” launched by her late father, she said.
“With the blessings of the people, we will make Nagrota a model constituency — fulfilling Devender Rana’s dream of transforming it into a symbol of developed India,” she said.
Scores of BJP supporters and residents of Nagrota thronged Devyani’s residence in Gandhi Nagar to celebrate the announcement of her candidature.
An entrepreneur managing the family business of media and motor companies, Devyani said she is committed to working with dedication and discipline.
“This seat belonged to the BJP, and it will always remain with the BJP,” she claimed.
Devyani, who did her BA in economics from the University of California, lauded the BJP for empowering women and youth, and said that under Prime Minister, Modi’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’, she aims to work to build a “developed Nagrota and a developed Jammu and Kashmir”.
Calling the BJP “not just a party but a family”, she said, “We don’t believe in talks, we believe in action, we believe in working on the ground and serving the people. Together, we will win this seat by a massive margin.”
Voting for the Assembly be- polls in eight seats in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Punjab, Telangana and Rajasthan will be held on November 11, and the votes will be counted on November 14.
Asked about her chances in the by-election, Devyani, who was appointed vice-president of the BJP’s youth wing in J-K last year, said, “The people will answer that. I am sure the voters will bless me with overwhelming support.”
Devender Rana passed away at the age of 59 on October 31, 2024, days after the results of the J-K Assembly elections were announced.
In the elections, Devender Rana won the Nagrota seat after defeating Joginder Singh of the National Conference (NC) by a big margin of 30,472 votes.
While the by-poll in Budgam is expected to witness a direct contest between the NC and the PDP, in Nagrota, Devyani is banking on her father’s strong legacy and the party’s consolidated support base in the constituency.
The last date for filing nominations is October 20, while the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is October 24.
BJP candidate from Budgam Assembly segment, Aga Syed Mohsin exuded confidence that BJP will open its account for the first time in Kashmir valley by winning Budgam seat. He said party will make its all efforts to win this seat on the basis of PM’s development agenda and welfare measures taken for common masses.
Meanwhile, Apni Party has also announced the names of its candidates for Nagrota and Budgam by-elections. The party named Mukhtar Ahmed Dar as its candidate for Budgam Assembly segment and Bodh Raj Bhagat for Nagrota constituency.
The party in a handout issued today said that Apni Party Parliamentary Affairs Committee was held today under the leadership of PAC chairman, Dillawar Mir in which the names of the party candidates were announced.
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