Taranjit Singh Sandhu, a former Indian Ambassador to the United States, will make his electoral debut in this year’s Lok Sabha election. He was named on Saturday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Amritsar constituency in Punjab.

On Saturday, the BJP announced its eighth list of candidates for 11 more Lok Sabha constituencies, including several leaders who recently joined the party from different parties, such as Bhartruhari Mahtab, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Sushil Kumar Rinku, and Preneet Kaur.

Who is Taranjit Singh Sandhu?

– Born into a family of educationists on January 23, 1963, Taranjit Singh Sandhu attended The Lawrence School, Sanawar in Himachal Pradesh He later graduated with Honors in History from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, before pursuing a Master’s Degree in International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

-Taranjit Singh Sandhu entered the Indian Foreign Service in 1988 after passing the civil services examination, according to the official website of the Indian Embassy to the US. He embarked on his diplomatic journey in the former Soviet Union (Russia), where he served as Third Secretary (Political) / Second Secretary (Commercial) at the Indian Mission from 1990 to 1992.

– After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he played a pivotal role in establishing a new Embassy in Ukraine. Subsequently, he served as Head of Political and Administration Wings in the Indian Embassy in Kiev from 1992 to 1994.

– From July 2013 to January 2017, Sandhu served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Washington DC. Earlier, he held the position of First Secretary (Political) at the Embassy of India in Washington DC, responsible for liaison with the United States Congress from 1997 to 2000.

– He also served at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York from July 2005 to February 2009.

– Sandhu’s diplomatic journey also led him to Sri Lanka, where he served as the High Commissioner of India from January 2017 to January 2020. Before this, he held the position of Head of the Political Wing at the High Commission of India in Colombo from December 2000 to September 2004.

– Sandhu presented his credentials to the former President of the United States of America on 6 February 2020 and served till January 31, 2024.

– He is wedded to Reenat Sandhu, a senior official in the Indian Foreign Service and presently acts as the Ambassador of India to the Netherlands. Together, they are parents to a son and a daughter.