Former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi is learnt to have been chosen as the next High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.

Although BJP leaders began congratulating him from Sunday afternoon, there was no confirmation on his appointment from the ministry of external affairs till late in the evening.

Trivedi’s will be a political appointment, replacing Pranay Verma, who in turn, was appointed India’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union earlier this month. The change of guard at the Indian mission in Dhaka comes at a time when bilateral ties are in for a reset after a year-and-a-half of strain over India’s decision to provide refuge to former Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina, who fled her country in August 2024 amid mass protests.

Citing a media report, BJP’s IT cell in-charge and Bengal co-in-charge Amit Malviya said on X: “Congratulations to Shri Dinesh Trivedi, senior BJP leader, former Union Minister and Barrackpore MP, for being appointed as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh.’’

Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu said: “I extend my congratulations to Dinesh Trivedi on his appointment as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh. I have known him for many years.... He brings with him valuable experience, a deep understanding of governance, and a balanced approach to policy matters. At a time when India-Bangladesh relations are of great importance, I am confident he will contribute meaningfully to further strengthening our ties....”

Trivedi, however, did not take The Telegraph’s call on Sunday night.

Trivedi, 75, was sent to the Rajya Sabha from Bengal by the Trinamool Congress in 2002. Before that, he had been sent to the Upper House from Gujarat by the Janata Dal in 1990. The seasoned Gujarati politician, whose family moved to India from Karachi during the Partition, spent decades in Calcutta, graduating in commerce from St Xavier’s College here. He knows Bengal better than many.

He spent a decade from 1980 in the Congress, then eight years from 1990 in the Janata Dal, another 23 years in Trinamool (1998-2021), before dramatically departing for
the BJP.

The two-term Barrackpore MP for whom Mamata Banerjee sacrificed Arjun Singh — who defected to the BJP and defeated Trivedi in 2019 — sprang a surprise on the floor of the Rajya Sabha on February 12, 2021, by stepping down as MP and quitting Trinamool in a speech citing claustrophobia, a keenness to serve the people and an inability to come to terms with having to abuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trivedi is most remembered for being summarily removed as Union railways minister of the UPA II government by Mamata in 2012, after she disagreed with fare hikes proposed in his railway budget, purportedly at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s behest, and replaced him with Mukul Roy.

He has an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a trained pilot. His childhood dream was to become a fighter pilot for the Indian Air Force. He had also applied to train as an actor at FTII, Pune, but abandoned the idea.