Actor-politician Vinod Khanna’s widow on Saturday turned tearful over being denied a nomination from Gurdaspur, the Lok Sabha seat her husband had represented, saying the BJP’s decision had left her feeling “abandoned and rejected” but said she would still support Narendra Modi.

“I was told by the party that I was a candidate. I was ready with my papers and, at the last moment, they denied me the ticket,” Kavita Khanna told a media conference.

The BJP had earlier this week nominated Sunny Deol from the Punjab seat, which votes on May 19.

Vinod Khanna had represented Gurdaspur for four terms and the seat had fallen vacant after his death.

The Congress’s Sunil Jakhar had wrested it in the 2017 by-elections. Then too the BJP had denied Kavita the ticket.

“It was not right for the party to have done this. You can’t deny someone who deserves it on merit,” Kavita, who said she has worked in the constituency along with her husband for 20 years, said.

“I felt so hurt. I understand the party has a right to decide the candidate but the way it was done I felt abandoned and rejected. I was made to feel insignificant,” she added, tears welling up.

Kavita, however, regained her composure soon and said she had decided to make a “personal sacrifice” since this general election was not a “personal issue” but about electing the best Prime Minister.

“And I feel Narendra Modi is the best Prime Minister for this country and I have decided to give my entire support for him and devote myself to public good,” she said.

Asked if she would campaign for Deol in Gurdaspur, Kavita said the actor had not asked her to. She later said she would campaign in the Lok Sabha seat for Modi.