Former US Envoy Sandhu Appointed Delhi Lt Governor in Major Reshuffle

Former Indian Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu has been appointed the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi as part of a wider reshuffle of Governors and Lieutenant Governors announced by Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Sandhu will replace Vinai Kumar Saxena, who had been serving as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi since May 26, 2022. According to an official statement, the appointments will take effect from the dates the respective appointees assume charge of their offices.

The decision forms part of a broader gubernatorial reorganisation announced on Thursday, involving changes in several states and Union Territories. As part of the reshuffle, Saxena has been appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, replacing Kavinder Gupta, who has been named the new Governor of Himachal Pradesh.

In another change, R. N. Ravi, currently serving as Governor of Tamil Nadu, has been appointed Governor of West Bengal, replacing C. V. Ananda Bose. Meanwhile, Syed Ata Hasnain, a retired Lieutenant General, has been appointed Governor of Bihar.

The reshuffle follows the resignation of Ananda Bose earlier in the day. His resignation was accepted by Droupadi Murmu, the President of India, according to a communique issued by the President’s office. In the interim, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, the Governor of Kerala, will discharge the functions of Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Sandhu, who served as India’s Ambassador to the United States from February 2020 until January 31, 2024, is a career diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1988. Over the course of more than three decades in the diplomatic service, he held several key postings in India’s foreign missions abroad.

During his diplomatic career, Sandhu served as First Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Washington, Consul General of India in Frankfurt, and later as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Washington D.C. He also headed the political and administration wing at the Indian Embassy in Kyiv, where he was associated with efforts linked to India’s diplomatic engagement in the region.

Sandhu is also credited with playing a role in the opening of the Indian Embassy in Ukraine during his early diplomatic assignments. His career has included several strategic diplomatic responsibilities involving political engagement, administration and bilateral relations.

After retiring from the foreign service, Sandhu entered active politics and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2024 general elections. The party fielded him as its candidate from the Amritsar parliamentary constituency against Congress leader Gurjit Singh Aujla.

Academically, Sandhu completed his Bachelor of Arts from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi before pursuing a Master of Arts degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

The appointment of a former diplomat to the post of Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor comes at a time when the office has played a prominent role in the governance of the national capital. During Saxena’s tenure, the position often remained in the public spotlight as administrative and political issues involving the Union Territory unfolded.

With the latest appointments announced by Rashtrapati Bhavan, multiple states and Union Territories are set to see new Governors and Lieutenant Governors taking charge in the coming weeks, marking one of the significant administrative reshuffles in recent months.