Former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu appointed Delhi LG

Former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu was appointed the lieutenant governor of Delhi on Thursday, replacing V K Saxena, who has been made the Ladakh Lieutenant Governor.

He had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar in 2024 on a BJP ticket.

Sandhu, a 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, was one of the most experienced Indian diplomats on United States affairs. He served in the Indian Mission in Washington DC multiple times.

He was India’s ambassador to the United States from February 2020 to January 2024. Previously, he served as the deputy chief of mission at the embassy in Washington from July 2013 to January 2017 and as the first secretary (political) from 1997 to 2000, with the responsibility to liaise with the US Congress.

The 63-year-old career diplomat had also been at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations from July 2005 to February 2009.

Sandhu’s predecessor V K Saxena has been Delhi’s lieutenant governor for around four years. During the period, Saxena has had several run-ins with the AAP government on governance and administrative issues.

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Saxena (67) had taken over the reins of Delhi LG on May 26, 2022, vowing to be visible on the roads of the city instead of being confined to Raj Niwas.

It was under his stewardship that various Delhi government and Central agencies successfully hosted the 18th G20 Summit in September 2023 in the national capital.

The BJP upstaged the AAP in the Assembly polls, winning 48 seats, following a spirited election campaign.