Sangrur, Feb. 16 -- Bharatiya Janata Party's Punjab unit vice-president Arvind Khanna joined the Shiromani Akali Dal on Sunday in Sangrur in the presence of party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. A former Congress MLA and businessman, Khanna had joined the BJP in January 2022. He was elected an MLA from the Sangrur assembly constituency in 2002 and from the Dhuri seat in 2012 on a Congress ticket. Khanna had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 assembly election from the Sangrur seat and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Sangrur parliamentary constituency on a BJP ticket. He began his political career with the SAD in 1997. Khanna switched over to Congress in 1998. As a Congressman, Khanna has served in various positions, including as general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) and a member of the All India Congress Committee. After joining the SAD, Khanna said that this had been a long-held wish of his. "Sukhbhir Singh Badal had done exceptional work during the floods. I am committed to fulfilling my responsibilities with complete devotion and honesty," Khanna said, adding that the most important factor is that the entire Punjab now stands with the Akali Dal. Welcoming Khanna into the party fold, Sukhbir said moving forward, other members of various political outfits will also join SAD. "A single thought has taken root in the minds of the people of Punjab that if we want to save the state, we must strengthen our regional party. In a post on 'X', Sukhbir added: "It is my pleasure to welcome senior BJP leader, two-time MLA and my friend Arvind Khanna into the Shiromani Akali Dal and appoint him as the Halka incharge of the Sangrur Assembly constituency." "Khanna has been serving Sangrur for more than two decades and has been instrumental in carrying out various social initiatives under the Umeed Foundation, headed by him. I am confident that his joining @Akali_Dal_will further strengthen the party in Sangrur district. I wish him all success in his new assignment," Sukhbir added. BJP district president Dharminder Singh Dullat, former municipal council president Harbans Singh Garchaalso joined SAD along with Khanna. The SAD president also took a jibe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab and said today the state is plagued by a reign of lawlessness. "To save our state, everyone must unite under the single flag of the Akali Dal," he added....