Puneeth Rajkumar (46) developed chest pain in the morning and visited his family doctor for an ECG. Following the ECG, he was asked to rush to the hospital. He arrived at Vikram Hospital in a serious condition around 11:30 am, Dr Ranganath Nayak of Vikram Hospital said.

In a tweet, the Chief Minister said, “The death of renowned Kannada film star Shri Puneeth Rajkumar due to a heart attack has caused me deep sadness. The death of Appu, who is much loved by Kannadigas, is a major loss for Kannada and Karnataka. May God rest his soul rest in peace. I pray for strength for his fans to bear this grief.”

In other news, voting is underway for two Assembly seats in Hanagal and Sindgi constituencies. The ongoing election is widely being seen as a prestige issue and the first electoral test for the new BJP Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, who replaced veteran leader B S Yediyurappa on July 28.

In Haveri, the BJP has fielded district president Shivaraj Sajjanar, a long-term party worker. On the other hand, Congress fielded Srinivas Mane, who lost the 2018 state election to C M Udasi by a narrow margin of 6,000 votes. 

In the Sindgi seat, BJP has fielded its MLA from the 2008-2013 period, Ramesh Bhusanur. Congress has fielded Ashok Managuli, the son of the JDS MLA M C Managuli who died in January this year. JDS has fielded a female, minority candidate Naziya Angadi.