Arvind Khanna

Arvind Khanna (born 29 May 1967) is an Indian politician, businessman, investor and philanthropist.

Khanna is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he joined in January 2022.

He is a senior leader of the BJP and a prominent figure in BJP Punjab.

He is serving as vice-president of BJP Punjab since December 2022 and is a member of BJP Punjab's core committee and finance committee.

Khanna is noted politically for his wealth and philanthropy.

Arvind Khanna was born on 29 May 1967 in Delhi, India.

Khanna is the second son and third child of businessman, Vipin Khanna and Naginder Khanna.

His elder siblings are Vinita and Navin, and his younger brother is Aditya.

His mother, Naginder, was the daughter of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.

Khanna attended school at Millfield in Somerset, England.

He then attended college at Pepperdien University in California, from where he graduated in 1989 with a degree in business management.

During his time in university, Khanna lived in Beverly Hills, California.

He has been a junior champion golfer in India, and has also played golf for Millfield, Pepperdine University and the Indian national men's team.

In 1991, Khanna came back to Delhi and joined his family businesses.

In 1997, he founded the Umeed Foundation, one of the largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Punjab.

He has also held positions in sports administration, including serving as the president of the Professional Golfers Association of India.

Khanna was introduced to politics by Sukhbir Singh Badal, and joined the Shiromani Akali Dal in 1997.

Khanna and Badal are close friends.

After joining the party, he became the General Secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal's youth wing.

From 1998 to 2015, Khanna was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC).

During his time in the INC, Khanna had served as General Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), as PPCC treasurer and was a member of the All India Congress Committee.

In 1998, he joined the Indian National Congress and served as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) party treasurer.

Khanna has been elected twice as a member of the legislative assembly (MLA).

He also founded TSL Defence Technologies in 2001, which was one of India's first private sector defence manufacturing companies.

Khanna is noted for being a powerful businessman.

Reportedly, Khanna is a central figure in the defence industry of India and allegedly, exerts substantial influence over the approval of Indian defence deals.

However, the allegations against him have never been proven, and the investigations into Khanna have found no evidence of wrongdoing and were dropped.

He has also had investments in various industries.

In 2022, Khanna stated that he had ceased any active involvement in his business interests, attributing this decision to his return to politics.

He served as the member of legislative assembly (MLA) from Sangrur from 2002 to 2007 and the MLA from Dhuri from 2012 to 2014.

In the 2002 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, Khanna contested from Sangrur and secured 42,339 votes (44.2%), winning by a margin of 19,132 votes.

In the 2004 Indian general election, he contested from the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency, and lost in a closely contested election against Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

Khanna's business interests, through his ASAS group of companies, which he founded in 2008, are in the defence, aerospace, technology, software and telecommunications equipment industries.

In the 2012 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, he won from Dhuri by securing 51,536 votes (45.65%).

Khanna served as the General Secretary of the PPCC and was also attached to the Punjab Congress Committee (PCC) President's office.

He was also a member of the All India Congress Committee.

Khanna wielded significant influence in the Punjab Congress because of his vast personal fortune and his relationship with Amarinder Singh, former Chief Minister of Punjab.

Khanna and Singh are first cousins, being related through Khanna's mother, Naginder, who was Singh's paternal aunt.

During his time in the Congress Party, Khanna was Singh's right-hand man and controlled access to Singh.

Khanna would regularly provide his private airplane and helicopter for Singh's use.