Chandigarh: Kavita Khanna, wife of late BJP MP Vinod Khanna, Friday expressed willingness to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Gurdaspur seat where her husband had been elected four times as Member of Parliament. "After a lot of consideration, I feel that the people of Gurdaspur want to see me as their MP and I do not want to disappoint them," Kavita said.

However, she said the final decision on selecting the candidate for Gurdaspur seat will be taken by the BJP.

"I have been attached to this place for 20 years. One can gauge the sentiments of the people. I feel they would like me to be their MP. If made the candidate (from Gurdaspur), I feel confident of winning," she said.

"I am not staking my claim simply because I am Vinod Khanna's wife. I believe that I know the constituency and I am connected with the people and I am committed to the constituency. On merit, I would be able to adequately do the work which needs to be done," said Kavita, who holds a degree in finance and accounting.

Kavita, a political greenhorn, said her actor-tuned-politician husband has earned a lot of love and respect from the people of Gurdaspur for carrying out enormous development works. She was in Pathankot on Friday to attend a party programme organised by the Mahila Morcha.

 Late Vinod Khanna with wife Kavita Khanna (Photo: Web)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a Gurdaspur rally on January 3 had recalled the efforts of Vinod Khanna for developing the area.

"Vinod Khanna made efforts for the progress of this place. He wanted to see modern and prosperous Gurdaspur, we have to realise his dream," Modi had said then.

Currently, Gurdaspur seat is represented by Congress MP Sunil Jakhar who won the seat in 2017 bypoll, which was necessitated after Vinod Khanna's death in April 2017.

 Late Vinod Khanna with wife Kavita Khanna, daughter Shraddha and son Sakshi Khanna (Photo: Web)

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Jakhar had defeated BJP candidate Swaran Salaria by a whopping margin of 1,93,219 votes in the bypoll.

Kavita was among the frontrunners for the BJP ticket during the 2017 bypoll, which is considered the BJP's stronghold, but the party had chosen businessman Salaria over her.

Vinod Khanna had won this seat in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014. He was popularly known as "sardar of bridges" for connecting remote villages in his constituency. PTI