Former diplomat Sandhu is Delhi’s new L-G
New Delhi: Former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu was appointed the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, replacing V K Saxena, who has been named the L-G of Ladakh, the Rashtrapati Bhavan announced on Thursday.
Sandhu, a 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar on a BJP ticket but was unsuccessful.
He served as India’s ambassador to the United States from February 2020 to January 2024. Earlier, he was the deputy chief of mission at the Indian Embassy in Washington from July 2013 to January 2017 and served as first secretary (political) between 1997 and 2000, where he handled liaison with the US Congress.
The 63-year-old diplomat also served at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations from July 2005 to February 2009.
His predecessor, Saxena, served as Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor for nearly four years, a period marked by several run-ins with the AAP government over governance and administrative matters.
Saxena, 67, assumed office on May 26, 2022, vowing he would remain visible among citizens rather than being confined to Raj Niwas. During his tenure, Delhi hosted the 18th G20 Summit in September 2023. It was also during this period that the BJP defeated the AAP in the Assembly elections, winning 48 seats.
Meanwhile, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, in an official release, announced several other appointments. Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla will be the new Governor of Telangana; Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma will be the new Governor of Maharashtra; Nand Kishore Yadav has been appointed the Governor of Nagaland; and Syed Ata Hasnain, a former army officer, has been appointed the Governor of Bihar.
Similarly, R.N. Ravi, presently Governor of Tamil Nadu, has been appointed as the Governor of West Bengal, while Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has been assigned additional charge of Tamil Nadu.
Ladakh L-G Kavinder Gupta has been appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh.
The appointments, made under Articles 159 and 162 of the Constitution, would take effect on the dates when the appointees take over their offices, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
