Former Indian ambassador to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Tuesday formally joined the BJP. He is likely to contest Amritsar Lok Sabha seat from Punjab.
The distinguished former diplomat returned to Amritsar, the land of his ancestors in February. He took the political plunge after ending an illustrious 35 year government service capped by a highly successful stint as India’s Ambassador to the US.
Sandhu was inducted into the BJP by two national general secretaries Tarun Chugh and Vinod Tawde and was welcomed by senior BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
Sandhu’s father Bishan Singh Samundri was the principal of the illustrious Khalsa College in Amritsar and later the founder Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University. His grandfather Teja Singh Samundri was one of the founders of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Teja Singh left the British army to join the independence and Gurdwara reforms movement.
After completing his studies at Ohio State University, Sandhu’s father came back to Amritsar to work. His mother chose to work in Amritsar despite studying overseas as well. She oversaw Government College for Women in Amritsar as its principal.
With Sandhu in the race, the BJP is hoping to regain Amritsar, where it has suffered since Arun Jaitley, the then-leader of the opposition, lost to Amarinder Singh, a Congress veteran, in 2014, despite the wave of Narendra Modi.
2019 saw Gurjit Aujla of the Congress beat Hardeep Puri of the BJP in this particular segment.
Earlier Navjot Singh Sidhu represented Amritsar Lok Sabha seat for the BJP between 2004 and 2014.
