Actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna today became the first Bollywood star to campaign for the forthcoming assembly polls in Punjab.

Khanna, a three-time member of Parliament from Gurdaspur, arrived in Gurdaspur late last night and was up early morning to meet Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from the district. He later addressed an election rally with Shiromani Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal to solicit support for the SAD-BJP candidates.

Talking to UNI, Mr Khanna said he will remain in the state till the day of polling, February 13. "The SAD-BJP will win the assembly polls as the Congress government has failed to live up to the aspirations of the people and has not fulfilled its promises made in 2002,'' he added.

Besides campaigning for SAD-BJP candidates in Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency, Khanna will also campaign in other parts of the state. He will campaign extensively for his party colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is contesting the Amritsar parliamentary by-election.

Khanna, who has won the last three Lok Sabha polls from Gurdaspur, is quite popular in his constituency as he is credited with having undertaken a number of development works.

Besides Khanna, the film stars who are likely to enter the electoral arena for the SAD-BJP in Punjab are Dharmendra, Dara Singh and Hema Malini, and television star Smriti Irani.