India names former minister Dinesh Trivedi as next High Commissioner to Bangladesh

India has named former central government minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dinesh Trivedi as the country’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, reports Indian news outlet Hindustan Times on Sunday.

The report further said that Dinesh Trivedi, a political leader, will replace career diplomat Pranay Verma, who moves to Brussels as the Indian ambassador to the EU.

This will be the first political appointee in the neighbourhood after a long time, the HT report added.

Dinesh Trivedi is a former member of parliament from West Bengal’s Barrackpore. He also served as a central minister during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) era of Manmohan Singh as a member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), holding the minister of state for health and family welfare and then the railway ministry portfolio.

The appointment of Dinesh Trivedi as India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh is currently awaiting approval from the Government of Bangladesh.

If all formalities are completed, he is expected to succeed career diplomat Pranay Verma as the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka.

The nomination of Dinesh Trivedi as India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh comes at a politically sensitive time surrounding Dhaka–New Delhi relations.

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August 2024 amid a student–public mass uprising, Bangladesh was ruled by an interim administration led by Professor Muhammad Yunus. During this period, relations between Dhaka and New Delhi reportedly deteriorated.

After the formation of a new government in Bangladesh under BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, bilateral relations between the two countries have begun to normalise.

It is in this context that the Narendra Modi government is set to send politician Dinesh Trivedi as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh.