Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Taranjit Singh Sandhu were colleagues at the ministry for external affairs for many years.
Sandhu served most recently as India's ambassador to the US, which Jaishankar had done earlier before Narendra D Modi picked him as foreign secretary, replacing Sujata Singh.
Five years ago, Jaishankar joined the BJP and was appointed external affairs minister. Sandhu followed him into the BJP after he retired from the Indian Foreign Service this year and is the party's candidate for the Amritsar seat, where not so long ago another retired diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri was vanquished in an election.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com