Dinesh Trivedi (file photo)

New Delhi: BJP leader and former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi is likely to be appointed India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, with his “extensive experience” cited as a key factor, PTI reported citing sources.If confirmed, Trivedi, who hails from West Bengal, which shares a border with Bangladesh, would be a rare political appointment to the ambassadorial post.Prannoy Verma, who was serving as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, was on Friday appointed as the next Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union. Verma, a 1994 batch diplomat, took charge as High Commissioner to Dhaka in September 2022.According to reports, New Delhi is considering appointing a political figure to the key diplomatic post in Dhaka amid efforts to reset bilateral ties following the formation of a new government led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Tariq Rahman in February.India-Bangladesh relations saw a significant deterioration under the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took charge in August 2024 after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in student-led protests.Trivedi, 75, served as Railway Minister and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during the Congress-led UPA government as a member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). He was later elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal and was also a Lok Sabha MP from Barrackpore. He left TMC in February 2021 and joined BJP, which has been the country’s ruling party since May 2014.Although there has been no formal announcement, BJP IT cell chief and co-in-charge of West Bengal Amit Malviya has posted a congratulatory message for Trivedi on social media.Malviya wrote on Twitter, “Congratulations to senior BJP leader, former Union Minister and Barrackpore MP Shri Dinesh Trivedi on being appointed as the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.”