Actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna, a four-time MP from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab, was popularly known as "Sardar of bridges" for connecting remote villages in his constituency.

70-year-old Khanna died of bladder cancer at a hospital in Mumbai today.

As the news of his death spread, his constituency went into a state of mourning. "The news has come as a great shock to us. We cannot believe that he is no more. He was ever so helpful and did so much for his constituency," 78-year-old Jarnail Singh, a Pathankot-based resident in Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency, said. Suave and easy to mingle with voters, Khanna was always a crowd puller in his constituency.


He even bought a house in the region so that he could have easy access to the people of his constituency. He had demanded a special package for border districts to create employment opportunities and promote adventure and spiritual tourism in his border constituency during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.


After joining the BJP in 1997, Khanna was fielded from Gurdaspur parliamentary seat in 1998. He met the expectations of the saffron party when he unseated veteran Congress leader and five-time MP Sukhbuns Kaur Bhinder with a handsome margin.


Khanna, who appeared in over 140 films, including "Haath ki Safai", "Hera Pheri" and "Muqaddar Ka Sikander", again trounced Bhinder in 1999 and 2004 Lok Sabha polls.


However, he had to taste defeat in 2009 Lok Sabha elections when he was defeated by Congress candidate Partap Singh Bajwa. Khanna took his 'sweet revenge' in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when he thrashed Bajwa with a margin of over 1.30 lakh votes.