New Delhi, Apr 19 (UNI) India is likely to appoint former union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader from West Bengal, Dinesh Trivedi, as its new envoy to Bangladesh, in a move that comes as both countries seek to reset ties with a BNP government in place in Dhaka.
The appointment of the 75-year-old veteran politician as the new High Commissioner to Dhaka could be announced in the next few days, ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections, in what would be seen as a strong political messaging, according to sources.
The fact that the Modi government has decided to go in for a political appointee, and not a regular Indian Foreign Service officer for the key role, is a strong indication that New Delhi is prepared to engage with Dhaka more politically, to sort out irritants in ties that had crept in under the Mohammed Yunus regime.
The move also comes as the current High Commissioner Pranay Verma has been named as the next ambassador to Belgium and the European Union.
India is keen to put relations back on an even keel with Dhaka, especially with Tarique Rahman now as the Prime Minister heading a Bangladesh Nationalist Party government following the February 2026 national elections.
Ties between Dhaka and New Delhi had gone through a turbulent and bitter phase following the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024, which led to a caretaker regime under Chief Advisor Mohammed Yunus take over. The anti-India sentiments spewed by top advisors under the Yunus regime, the attacks on minority Hindus and the open kow-towing of Pakistan, saw the carefully nurtured bilateral relations teeter precariously. Now with Tarique Rahman at the helm, India is reaching out to balance the ties.
In face, PM Tarique Rahman, in a significant move, in his official message on Genocide Day on March 25, slammed the Pakistani military for the 1971 "planned massacre" known as Operation Searchlight. He described March 25 as "one of the most disgraceful and brutal days" in history, and accused the Pakistani occupation forces of carrying out "one of the most heinous genocides" against unarmed Bengalis, including students and intellectuals.
The political messaging to India could not have been clearer by Dhaka, that it wants to mend ties.
Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman visited Delhi earlier this month, and India has been providing Bangladesh with petroleum and petroleum products, as well as rice and other food items as required by the neighbouring country.
Dinesh Trivedi is a seasoned parliamentarian and has represented West Bengal in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. He served as union Railway Minister and previously as Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
He had earlier been with the Trinamool Congress, but resigned from the party in 2021 to join the BJP.
BJP leader Amit Malviya, in a post on X, congratulated Dinesh Trivedi on the appointment, which has not yet been officially confirmed.
"Congratulations to Shri Dinesh Trivedi, senior BJP leader, former union Minister and Barrackpore MP, for being appointed as India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh," Malviya wrote on X.
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