Lanka-friendly envoy Sandhu to contest polls on BJP ticket

New Delhi’s elite diplomatic corps seems to have taken a liking to politics after their retirement, all with the ruling Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP).

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri were former diplomats before joining active politics.

The latest to join the club is no stranger to Sri Lanka—former High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who joined the BJP. After his assignment in Colombo, he was posted to Washington, DC, as India’s ambassador, and he was credited with improving Indo-US ties during his tenure.

As a career diplomat, Ambassador Sandhu served in the US on three occasions and established a wide network across party lines. He used this influence to facilitate the state visits of Indian Premier Narendra Modi to the US in 2014 and 2016. He retired from diplomatic service on February 1.

“In the last 10 years, I have worked closely with PM Modi’s leadership, especially in the relationship with the United States and Sri Lanka. PM Modi is development-focused. Development is very much needed today, and this development should reach Amritsar too. So, I thank the party president, the Prime Minister, and the Home Minister who encouraged me for the new path of service to the nation that I am entering,” he said at the joining ceremony, while stressing that development should reach his hometown of Amritsar as well.

The ongoing speculation in Delhi is that the BJP might field him at the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from his hometown. He was a good friend of Sri Lanka.