Chandigarh, February 15 (PT) In a setback for the BJP in Punjab, the party's state vice president, Arvind Khanna, joined the Shiromani Akali Dal in Sangrur on Sunday.
Khanna was a Congress MLA before joining the Punjab BJP.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal visited Khanna's house in Sangrur, where he was inducted into the party.
Badal said it was his pleasure to welcome his friend into the SAD and appoint him as the in-charge of the Sangrur Assembly constituency.
Khanna has been serving Sangrur for more than two decades and has been instrumental in carrying out various social initiatives under the Umeed Foundation, headed by him, the SAD chief said.
"He is among the rare breed of leaders who believe in selfless service and giving back to society. I am confident that his joining the Akali Dal will further strengthen the party in Sangrur district," Badal added.
Khanna was elected as an MLA from the Sangrur Assembly constituency in 2002 and the Dhuri seat in 2012 on a Congress ticket. He was once considered close to former chief minister Amarinder Singh, who resigned as an MLA in 2014 and left active politics.
Khanna had joined the BJP in January 2022, just before the Punjab assembly polls. He had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Assembly election from the Sangrur seat and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Sangrur parliamentary constituency on a BJP ticket.
He began his political career with the SAD in 1997 and was made the general secretary of the party's youth wing. Khanna switched over to Congress in 1998.
Addressing a gathering after joining the party, Khanna said he started his political innings with the SAD and described his rejoining as a “homecoming”.
He said people still remembered the unprecedented development done in the state during successive Akali governments. "They want a return to those days", he said.
Khanna also said that he was inspired by the selfless service rendered by Sukhbir Badal during the floods in Punjab last year.
On this occasion, the SAD president also welcomed BJP district president Dharminder Singh Dullat, former municipal council presidents Harbans Singh Garcha and Deepak Aggarwal, Daljit Singh Sekhon, executive member state BJP committee, Manjula Sharma, district president, among others.