Former Indian envoy to Sri Lanka enters politics

Former Indian envoy to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu has entered politics and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Sandhu, who is from Punjab’s Amritsar, said “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, Home Minister who encouraged me for the new path of service to the nation that I am entering.”

Sandhu said that Amritsar should not miss the opportunities the country is getting, and his nomination for the Lok Sabha candidate will be decided by the party itself.

Meanwhile, the BJP and Congress have not named candidates for 13 seats in Punjab, whereas the AAP has named 8 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, including 5 ministers from Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann-led cabinet.

AAP has fielded Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer for Sangrur, Sushil Kumar Rinku from Jalandhar, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal Amritsar.

The 2024 Indian general election in Punjab will be held on June 1, 2024, to elect 13 members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

In the Lok Sabha election of 2019, BJP won 2 seats with a 9.7 percent vote share, while Congress won 8 seats with a 40.6 per cent, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and AAP won 1 seat each. (India West / Colombo Gazette)