Ravinder Raina | |
|---|---|
| President ofBharatiya Janata Party, Jammu and Kashmir | |
| In office 13 May 2018[1] – 3 November 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Sat Paul Sharma[2] |
| Succeeded by | Sat Paul Sharma[3] |
| Member ofJammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 23 December 2014 – 21 November 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Radhay Sham Sharma |
| Succeeded by | Surinder Kumar Choudhary |
| Constituency | Nowshera |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1977-01-31)31 January 1977 (age 49) |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Residence | Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir |
| Education | Diploma in International Law and Human Rights |
| Occupation | Politician |
Ravinder Raina (born 31 January 1977) is an Indian politician fromJammu and Kashmir. He is a member ofRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).[4][5][6] He was the last president of BJP J&K state unit and first president of J&K union territory unit.
He was born on 31 January 1977[7] to Shri Pushap Dutt into aPahari-Poonchi Brahmin family (displaced from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) inNowshera, in theRajouri district ofJammu.[8] He did hisgraduation inB.Sc. in 1999 fromJammu University, Jammu. He also holds apostgraduate degree in International law of Human Rights.[9] After completing graduation, Raina joined the Indian navy but later he returned as Human Rights activist in 2004.[1]
Raina has been closely associated with the welfare of victims of terrorism in the state. He was advised to join theBharatiya Janata Party by formerPrime Minister A. B. Vajpayee during a meeting. He served as the state president of the party's youth wing: the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).[1] In2014 assembly elections he defeatedJammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party candidateSurinder Kumar Choudhary by 9,503 votes from theNowshera Assembly constituency. During the budget session in early 2018, Raina led his party colleagues several times in shouting anti-Pakistan slogans in the Assembly to protest against the frequent ceasefire violations by the neighbouring country along theLine of Control (LoC).[1] He failed in his bid for re-election to theJammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in the2024 assembly elections, being beaten bySurinder Kumar Choudhary, a candidate from theJammu and Kashmir National Conference, by 7,819 votes in theNowshera Assembly constituency.[10][11]
Raina courted controversy in 2015 when he took oath asMLA inJammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in the name of "Mata Vaishno Devi". Members of opposition registered their objection by saying that there is no provision for a member of the legislative house to take oath in the name of "Mata Vaishno Devi". Protem Speaker Mohmmad Shafi had to intervene in the matter and later he asked Raina to take oath in the name of God.[2]
New BJP J&K President 2024 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).