Kavita Khanna, wife of late actor Vinod Khanna and a ticket aspirant in Punjab’s Gurdaspur, has expressed disappointment at being overlooked, even as she pledged support to the BJP, news agency ANI reported.
The BJP nominated actor Sunny Deol from the seat, days after he joined the saffron party.
Responding to the snub, Khanna said: “I felt hurt because I understand party has the right to decide candidate but there is a way of doing it, and the way it was done I felt abandoned and rejected. I was made to feel insignificant.
Khanna, however, clarified that she will continue to pledge her support to the party.
“It is my decision that I am not going to make this a personal issue and make a personal sacrifice and put my entire might and support with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” she said.
Vinod Khanna, Kavita’s husband, won the seat in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014. But after Khanna’s death, BJP lost the seat to Congress’ Sunil Kumar Jakhar in October 2017. Kavita was ignored even in 2017, when the BJP fielded Swaran Salaria from the seat.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)