Arvind Khanna

Arvind Khanna
Vice-President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Punjab
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 December 2022
PresidentAshwani Kumar Sharma
Sunil Kumar Jakhar
Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly
In office
2002 - 2007
Preceded byRanjit Singh
Succeeded bySurinder Pal Singh Sibia
ConstituencySangrur
In office
2012 - 2015
Preceded byIqbal Singh Jhundan
Succeeded byGobind Singh Longowal
ConstituencyDhuri
Personal details
Born (1967-05-29) 29 May 1967 (age 57)
Delhi, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (2022-present)
Other political
affiliations		Shiromani Akali Dal (1997)
Indian National Congress (1998-2015)
SpouseShagun Khanna
Children2
Parent(s)Vipin Khanna (father)
Naginder Khanna (mother)
EducationMillfield
Alma materPepperdine University
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Businessman
  • Investor
  • Philanthropist
WebsiteOfficial website

Arvind Khanna (born 29 May 1967) is an Indian politician, businessman, investor and philanthropist.[1] Khanna is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he joined in January 2022.[2] He is a senior leader of the BJP.[3][4] 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.[5][6][7] He served as the member of legislative assembly (MLA) from Sangrur from 2002 to 2007 and the MLA from Dhuri from 2012 to 2014.[2][8] From 1998 to 2015, Khanna was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC).[9] During his time in the INC, Khanna served as General Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), PPCC treasurer, President of the Punjab Youth Congress, and a member of the All India Congress Committee.[8][10][11]

Khanna's business interests, through his ASAS group of companies, which he founded in 2008, were in the arms, aerospace, technology, software and telecommunications equipment industries.[12][13][14] He also founded TSL Defence Technologies in 2001, which was one of India's first private sector defence manufacturing companies.[15][16][17] According to allegations by Indian government authorities, Khanna was reportedly a central figure in the defence industry of India.[18][13][19] However, the allegations against him were never proven, and the investigations into Khanna found no evidence of wrongdoing and were dropped.[20][21][22] He has also had other business interests and investments in various industries, including real estate and sports.[12][23] In 2022, Khanna ended all involvement in his business interests due to his return to politics.[24]

In 1997, Khanna founded the Umeed Foundation, one of the largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Punjab.[25][26][27] He has also held positions in sports administration, including serving as the president of the Professional Golfers Association of India.[28][29]

  1. ^ Singh, Khushwant (15 February 2017). Captain Amarinder Singh: The People's Maharaja: An Authorized Biography. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 978-93-85827-44-0. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Punjab elections: Ex-Congress MLA Arvind Khanna, Tohra's grandson join BJP". Hindustan Times. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Moudgil, Rajesh (4 June 2022). "Another setback for Congress in Punjab as its 5 senior leaders join BJP". Free Press Journal. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  5. ^ Vasudeva, Ravinder (3 December 2022). "Punjab BJP unit revamped, most ex-Congress leaders among office-bearers". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  6. ^ Express News Service (6 December 2022). "Amarinder Singh, Sunil Jakhar among 17-member Punjab BJP core committee". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  7. ^ Tribune News Service (10 November 2023). "Punjab BJP appoints office-bearers". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b Press Trust of India (14 May 2014). "Punjab Congress MLA Arvind Khanna resigns". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :35 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Press Trust of India (8 April 2015). "Bajwa says 'high command's prerogative' on Khanna's expulsion". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Business Activity". Arvind Khanna. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Sagar, Pradip R. (12 April 2019). "Exclusive: Indian Army's decision to buy 'failed' missiles raises eyebrows". The Week. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :24 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference :40 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference :42 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference :43 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :46 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Arvind Khanna and Rimanshu Gaba (13 December 2022). Punjab BJP Vice President Arvind Khanna ਦਾ ਵੱਡਾ ਬਿਆਨ, ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਨਾਲ Alliance ਦਾ ਮਤਲਬ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ [Punjab BJP Vice President Arvind Khanna's major statement, "Alliance with Akali Dal makes no sense."] (YouTube video) (in English and Punjabi). Dainik Savera TV. 25:42 minutes in. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  25. ^ Roy, Vijay C. (20 August 2010). "Punjab rural women benefiting from NGOs". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Umeed NGO in Sangrur Punjab Address Contact details". Indian NGO list directory Database. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference :32 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ TNN (30 January 2002). "FAI hire Hungarian coach for fencers". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference :27 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).