Arvind Khanna
Indian politician, businessman, investor and philanthropist / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 and a prominent figure in BJP Punjab.[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] In his political career, Khanna has been known for using his wealth and engaging in philanthropy to further consolidate his influence.[1][8][9][10] 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][11] From 1998 to 2015, Khanna was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC).[12] 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.[11][13][14]
Arvind Khanna | |
---|---|
Vice-President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Punjab | |
Assumed office 3 December 2022 | |
President | Ashwani Kumar Sharma Sunil Kumar Jakhar |
Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly | |
In office 2002 - 2007 | |
Preceded by | Ranjit Singh |
Succeeded by | Surinder Pal Singh Sibia |
Constituency | Sangrur |
In office 2012 - 2015 | |
Preceded by | Iqbal Singh Jhundan |
Succeeded by | Gobind Singh Longowal |
Constituency | Dhuri |
Personal details | |
Born | (1967-05-29) 29 May 1967 (age 57) Delhi, India |
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (2022-present) |
Other political affiliations | Shiromani Akali Dal (1997) Indian National Congress (1998-2015) |
Spouse | Shagun Khanna |
Children | Adhiraj and Suryaveer |
Parent(s) | Vipin Khanna (father) Naginder Khanna (mother) |
Relatives | Khanna family |
Education | Millfield |
Alma mater | Pepperdine University |
Occupation |
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Website | Official website |
Khanna's business interests, through his ASAS group of companies, which he founded in 2008, were in the defence, aerospace, technology, software and telecommunications equipment industries.[15][16][17] He also founded TSL Defence Technologies in 2001, which was one of India's first private sector defence manufacturing companies.[18][19][20] During his business career, Khanna was noted for being a powerful businessman.[21][22] Reportedly, Khanna was a central figure in the defence industry of India and allegedly, exerted substantial control over the approval of Indian defence deals.[23][16][24][25] However, the allegations against him were never proven, and the investigations into Khanna found no evidence of wrongdoing and were dropped.[25][26][27] He has also had other business interests and investments in various industries.[15][28] In 2022, Khanna ended all involvement in his business interests due to his return to politics.[29]
In 1997, Khanna founded the Umeed Foundation, one of the largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Punjab.[30][31][32] He has also held positions in sports administration, including serving as the president of the Professional Golfers Association of India.[33][34]