Former Indian Ambassador to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu Joins BJP – News18

Former Indian ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu joined the BJP on Tuesday amid the possibility that he may be fielded in the Lok Sabha polls from Amritsar in Punjab. He joined the party in the presence of its general secretaries Vinod Tawde and Tarun Chugh.

This development should also reach hometown Amritsar, he said, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda for his political innings. Joining the BJP, Sandhu spoke about the growth of the India-US relationship and said development has been its focus area in a host of fields such as the semiconductor industry.

“Delighted to interact with people at #RanjitAvenue in #Amritsar. Thank you Pappu Mahajan for hosting,” he said in a post on social media platform X. On Monday, Sandhu visited Amritsar, where he held talks with community leaders regarding the need for improvements in infrastructure and agriculture.

This comes as the Lok Sabha polls are set to take place in seven phases starting April 19 in the world’s largest election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi eyeing a third consecutive term in office. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. Announcing the poll schedule to elect the 543-member Lok Sabha, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said that over 97 crore voters–49.7 crore male and 47.1 crore female–are eligible to cast their votes across 10.5 lakh polling booths.

While the opposition INDIA bloc remains hit by internal bickerings, Modi, 73, is not just looking to stamp his electoral dominance in the country but is also chasing history looking for another consecutive victory that will equal the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s record.

(With agency inputs)