Rajinder Gupta: Punjab’s richest politician with ties across party lines

Born in Bathinda, Gupta began his business journey in 1985 with Abhishek Industries, initially dealing in fertilisers, before diversifying into textiles in 1991. This marked the beginning of the Trident Group, which expanded into home textiles, paper, chemicals and power, with exports to over 150 countries.

Trident Limited, the group’s flagship company headquartered in Ludhiana, grew into a vertically integrated manufacturer of towels, yarn, bed and bath linen, and wheat straw-based paper, with major production units in Barnala and Budhni in Madhya Pradesh, and offices in New York and London.

In August 2022, Gupta stepped down as Chairman and Managing Director, citing health and family reasons, and took on the role of Chairman Emeritus.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007 and has been recognised by industry bodies, including receiving the Vastra Ratna award from the Textile Export Promotion Council.

After entering Parliament, Gupta remained active initially, meeting Union ministers such as Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari and speaking on industry-related issues. He also publicly backed the India-US trade deal, even as AAP criticised if.

In February 2026, he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for efforts towards operationalising Halwara airport. However, by March 30, his office said he was in the United States for medical treatment and was likely to undergo a third major heart surgery. He had remained largely absent from the political scene since then.

Gupta has long maintained ties across political parties. He served as vice-chairman of the Punjab State Planning Board during both the SAD-BJP government from 2012 to 2017 and the Congress government from 2017 to 2022. After AAP came to power, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Punjab State Economic Policy and Planning Board in June 2022, a post carrying Cabinet rank. He resigned from the position before taking oath as a Rajya Sabha MP.

His nomination to the Rajya Sabha was seen as AAP’s attempt to bring in a prominent industrialist from Punjab and address criticism of a Delhi-centric leadership.

Gupta has also held positions in industry and institutional bodies, including as Chairperson of FICCI’s advisory council for the region and Chairman of the Board of Governors of Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. He has been associated with the Cleveland Clinic International Leadership Board and has served as president of the Punjab Cricket Association.

During the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Trident drew attention for increasing employee wages at a time when many companies were cutting salaries.

With his move to the BJP, Gupta’s political trajectory marks a shift from his recent association with AAP, even as his business legacy remains tied to the growth of the Trident Group in Punjab and beyond.