Vinod Khanna’s wife BJP’s choice from Gurdaspur seat?

Chandigarh: After the death of famous actor Vinod Khanna, who was the most prominent face of the BJP in Punjab, the saffron party could field the late actor’s wife, Kavita Khanna, as its candidate for the seat for which byelection is due. Local BJP workers have also backed her name.

The Gurdaspur seat is considered a stronghold of the BJP, after the entry of Vinod Khanna, a four-time MP, who was also known as bridge man in the area. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998, and went on to retain the seat till 2009, when he lost to the then Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa. In 2014, he was chosen to contest the election and re-claimed the seat with a vote margin of 1.36 lakh.

Now with byelection to the seat due, sources in Punjab BJP feels that Ms Khanna is an obvious choice from the area  “Apart from being his (Vinod Khanna) wife, she had actively campaigned during previous polls. She has been overseeing the work in the constituency in his absence. She would able to connect with the people,” says Vijay Verma, BJP general secretary, Gurdaspur.

Apart from Ms Khanna’s name, other names making rounds are of actors Akshay Kumar and Rishi Kapoor, though Akshay has denied the reports to contest the elections.

However, with local BJP leaders backing Ms Khanna, the wife of veteran actor is considered a front-runner as the party nominee. She has been managing the constituency affairs in the absence of her husband, who often skipped visiting the constituency due to films. She was in touch with Khanna’s supporters when he was hospitalised.