Feels betrayed, says Vinod Khanna’s wife Kavita after denied ticket from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat

A day after Bharatiya Janata Party fielded actor Sunny Deol from the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab, Kavita Khanna, wife of late Union minister and four-time MP Vinod Khanna, said she felt betrayed. Kavita, who was hopeful of getting nominated from the seat, emphasised she was weighing all her options, including contesting as an Independent.

“I feel betrayed. I also feel that the wishes of people who wanted me as their MP were ignored,” Kavita told PTI on Wednesday.

When asked about if she would contest as an Independent from the seat- which was represented by her husband for several years, Kavita said, I am weighing all my options. I have not decided anything (yet). I have not taken any decision on any issue.

“I have faith in God. Life is a journey. I have worked here for 20 years. When Vinod ji was unwell, I used to meet people of the constituency. People wanted me as their MP,” she said.

Earlier, BJP fielded 62-year-old Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur seat hours after he joined the party in the presence of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.

The development came days after he met BJP president Amit Shah in Pune.

"The way my father (film star Dharmendra) was attached with Atalji, today I have come to join Modiji. Whatever I can do for this family (BJP), I will do it.... I won't talk, I will show you through my work," Deol said while addressing the media at the Bharatiya Janata Party office.

Deol is the second member of the family after his stepmother Hema Malini, the BJP candidate renominated from Mathura, to be given ticket by the party in this election. His father Dharmendra was BJP MP from Bikaner in 2004.