S Jaishankar is BJP candidate for Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was named the BJP candidate from one of the two Gujarat seats on which bye-elections will be held on July 5, according to a statement issued by the ruling party.

The minister was formally named as the BJP candidate hours after he formally joined the BJP in the presence of party working president J P Nadda. The BJP statement also announced Jugalji Mathurji Thakor as the party candidate for the second seat from Gujarat.

Jaishankar, a career diplomat and a former foreign secretary, was inducted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his government as external affairs minister on May 30.

The 64-year-old, who played a key role in shaping the foreign policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term, has to be a Member of Parliament within six months of his swearing in.

The 1977-batch officer has served in various capacities in the foreign ministry in India and abroad. Before he was elevated as the foreign secretary, Jaishankar was India’s envoy in the US and China.

He was the Foreign Secretary from January 2015 to January 2018 and played a key role in shaping Modi’s foreign policy during his first term, which saw a significant growth and expansion of India’s ties with key countries, particularly the US and Arab nations.

Jaishankar had also planned and executed a highly successful maiden visit of Prime Minister Modi to the US in September 2014 and his landmark address to the Indian diaspora at the Madison Square in New York.

A major highlight of his diplomatic career was his tenure as Joint Secretary in-charge of Americas Division from 2004 to 2007, during he was involved in negotiating the historic civil nuclear agreement which was finalized in 2006, according to news agency IANS. He also led the Indian team of negotiators for the subsequent 123 Agreement, with the US, which was linked to the civil nuclear deal and concluded in 2009.

Jaishankar, who was honoured with India’s fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in January this year, also played a key role in improving the defence cooperation between India and the US in the shape of a new framework.