Big Jolt To BJP In Punjab As Arvind Khanna Switches To Shiromani Akali Dal

Sangrur: In a major setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab, its state vice-president Arvind Khanna resigned and joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday.

Amid ongoing alliance discussions in the state, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal visited Dhuri in Sangrur on Sunday. There, he formally inducted Khanna into the party, appointing him as the constituency in charge of Sangrur. This event signalled the official end of Khanna's association with the BJP and marked his transition to the SAD.

Khanna joined SAD in the presence of Sukhbir Singh Badal and several senior leaders.

Sukhbir said, "I have shared affection with Arvind Khanna for the past 40 years and I always wanted him to join the party. Today, he, along with thousands of his workers, has joined the Shiromani Akali Dal. I congratulate him and appoint him as the Sangrur constituency in-charge, and the entire command of the Shiromani Akali Dal in the area is being handed over to him."

Sukhbir said, "I am very happy that senior BJP leader and two-time MLA and my friend Arvind Khanna is joining the Shiromani Akali Dal today. He has been appointed as the constituency in-charge of the Sangrur Assembly segment."

Badal added, "Khanna has been serving Sangrur for more than two decades and has led several social initiatives through the Umeed Foundation, which he heads. I am confident that his joining the Shiromani Akali Dal will further strengthen the party in Sangrur district. I wish him the best for his new responsibility."

Sukhbir Badal said that leaders and workers from the BJP and the Congress who join the Shiromani Akali Dal would be accorded due respect and responsibilities in the party.

Badal also welcomed BJP district president Dharminder Singh Dullat, former municipal council presidents Harbans Singh Garcha and Deepak Aggarwal, Daljit Singh Sekhon, BJP state executive member, Manjula Sharma, district president, among others.

Khanna said, "I thank everyone for their support. After resigning from the BJP, hundreds of workers joined the Shiromani Akali Dal with me. I am grateful to them. To save Punjab, we must support a regional party."

About Arvind Khanna

Previously, Khanna was considered a close associate of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. He served as the BJP vice-president in Punjab and is known as a prominent industrialist in the region. Over several years, he earned recognition for serving the people of the Sangrur constituency through the Umeed Foundation.

Khanna first became an MLA in 2002, winning the Sangrur Assembly seat on a Congress ticket. In 2004, he contested the Lok Sabha elections as the Congress candidate but was defeated by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Later, in 2012, he contested and won the Dhuri Assembly seat, thereby establishing himself as a major leader.

However, two years after the 2012 victory, when the Congress could not form the government, Khanna resigned from the Assembly. He then withdrew from politics, shut down his businesses and institutions in the area, and left the city.

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