Arvind Khanna

Arvind Khanna (born 29 May 1967) is an Indian politician, businessman, investor and philanthropist. Khanna has been member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since January 2022. He is a senior leader of the BJP. 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. He served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Sangrur from 2002 to 2007 and the MLA from Dhuri from 2012 to 2014. From 1998 to 2015, Khanna was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC). While in the INC, Khanna served as General Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), PPCC treasurer, President of the Punjab Youth Congress, and was a member of the All India Congress Committee.

Khanna, the son of businessman and financier Vipin Khanna, had business interests that spanned several industries, most notably in the arms and aerospace industries. He also founded TSL Defence Technologies in 2001, which was one of India's first private sector defence manufacturing companies. According to allegations by Indian government authorities, Khanna was a central figure in the defence industry of India and reportedly exerted control over arms procurement. However, the allegations against him were never proven, and the investigations into Khanna found no evidence of wrongdoing and were dropped. He has also had other business interests and investments in various other industries, including real estate and sports. In 2022, Khanna ended all involvement in his business interests due to his return to politics.

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