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Prominent National Conference leader Devendra Singh Rana resigns from party, set to join BJP

Rana could be a potential chief ministerial candidate for the BJP from Jammu

Devendra-Singh-Rana Devendra Singh Rana | PTI

The National Conference, on Sunday, suffered a setback as Devendra Singh Rana, the party’s face in Jammu, resigned from the party’s basic membership. Rana and another NC leader, Surjeet Singh Salathia, are expected to join the BJP on Monday.  

Rana was the NC's provincial president for more than a decade, and was considered a confidant and friend of the party vice president Omar Abdullah.

According to sources, another NC leader is also likely to quit the party.

Rana, who was elected from Nagrota in Udhampur, was among the few NC leaders who won the last assembly elections.

He is the brother of Jitendra Singh Rana,  BJP leader and minister of state with independent charge in PMO.

According to sources, the NC president has accepted the resignation of Rana.  The resignation has come after weeks of speculations about Rana joining the saffron party.

Last week, several pro-Jammu leaders like Chowdhary Lal Singh of Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan and Harsh Dev Singh of National Panthers Party had meetings with Rana amid speculations that he was switching over to the BJP.

Of late, Rana had begun to talk about the ‘Jammu declaration’ which talks about the need to protect aspirations and interests of the people in Jammu region’. He had said  he was ready to make any sacrifice to protect the interests of Jammu region.

The Jammu declaration is considered a counter to People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, an alliance of regional parties, which seeks the restoration of Article 370 and statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Rana could be a potential chief ministerial candidate for the BJP from Jammu. The move could galvanize the voters in Jammu towards the party and offset the anger and frustration among the BJP supporters in Jammu against the party’s policies in J&K after the revocation of Article 370.

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