Young debutants make mark in J&K Assembly

In the ongoing budget session of the J&K assembly in the winter capital of Jammu, two newcomers Devyani Rana, 30, of the BJP from Nagrota of Jammu and Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, 31, of the PDP from Budgam of Kashmir, made their political debut in the house at a time when the powers of this house were at its historical lowest. Both MLAs are young, educated, energetic and from political backgrounds that can be defined in superlatives.

Rana, is an heir to a political legacy of her father late Devender Rana, who for around two decades was shadow of current J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in National Conference and party’s most confident face in Jammu division. After abrogation of special status and downgrading of J&K state into the two Union Territories of J&K in August 2019, Devender Rana moved to the BJP, a party which had made his brother Dr Jitendra Singh a union minister for three consecutive terms since 2014. Devender Rana had won the last assembly elections in J&K in October 2024 but lost a battle to illness in 2025. His daughter won the by-elections in November 2025, also from the BJP.

In her maiden speech in the assembly Rana said that she was in the house to “honour the legacy of her father” and “serve the people of her Nagrota constituency. Despite taking a critical approach to the NC government’s budget, she received applause from across the party lines in the assembly.


On the other hand, Mehdi is a lawyer with LLM degree from Amity University and is son of Aga Hassan, a prominent Shia cleric, who has a strong influence and hold over the community. He has been a prominent member of Hurriyat Conference as well.

Mehdi has chosen electoral politics, which he said was “a realistic choice that enjoys people’s support in current times.” Mehdi is also a cousin of Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, who is a Lok Sabha member from Srinagar and associated with the ruling NC. Mehdi won Budgam by defeating his uncle Aga Syed Mahmood from NC. In his maiden assembly speech representing PDP, Mehdi thanked MLAs across the party lines for welcoming him wholeheartedly.