Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: BJP leader and former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi is likely to be appointed India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, with his “extensive experience” cited as a key factor, PTI reported quoting sources.If confirmed, Trivedi, who hails from West Bengal, which shares a border with Bangladesh, would be a rare political appointee to an ambassadorial post.Pranay Verma, who had been serving as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, was on Friday appointed as the next Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union. Verma, a 1994-batch diplomat, took charge as High Commissioner in Dhaka in September 2022.According to reports, New Delhi has been considering appointing a political figure to the key diplomatic post in Dhaka amid efforts to reset bilateral ties following the formation of a new government led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Tarique Rahman in February.India–Bangladesh relations had witnessed a significant downturn under the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which assumed charge after the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in student-led protests in August 2024.Trivedi, 75, served as Railway Minister and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during the Congress-led UPA government as a member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). He was later elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal and also served as a Lok Sabha MP from Barrackpore. He quit the TMC in February 2021 and joined the BJP, which has been the country’s ruling party since May 2014.Although there has been no formal announcement, BJP IT cell head and West Bengal co-incharge, Amit Malviya, posted a congratulatory message for Trivedi on social media.“Congratulations to Shri Dinesh Trivedi, senior BJP leader, former Union Minister and Barrackpore MP, for being appointed as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh,” Malviya wrote on X.
