BJP shortlists son Akshaye Khanna for father Vinod Khanna's Gurdaspur seat in Punjab

After roping in actors Isha Koppikar and Moushumi Chatterjee, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is said to be working towards fielding Akshaye Khanna from Punjab’s Gurdaspur in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Interestingly, his late father and actor Vinod Khanna was a four-time Gurdaspur MP. However, another name that is doing the rounds is that of Vinod Khanna’s second wife Kavita Khanna from the same seat. The party is trying to put the most aggressive front against the sitting Congress MP Sunil Jakhar.

“Vinod Khanna has tremendous goodwill in the Gurdaspur constituency and even the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, had referred to him extensively during his Gurdaspur rally in February. The party feels that if Kavita Khanna has no objections then Akshaye would bring the Bollywood charm as well his father’s memories to good effect and prove to be a tough match for Jakhar,” said a local BJP leader in Gurdaspur as quoted by the Indian Express.

According to the daily, the BJP has short-shortlisted multiple names for three Lok Sabha seats in Punjab  – Amritsar, Gurdaspur, and Hoshiarpur. Hardip Puri is among those considered for Amritsar. The BJP- Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) alliance is also considering HS Phoolka, who recently quit the Aam Aadmi Party for the Amritsar seat.