Mumbai: Bollywood star Irrfan Khan on Friday revealed he has been diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour and is going out of the country for treatment.

"The unexpected makes us grow, which is what the past few days have been about. Learning that I have been diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour as of now has admittedly been difficult, but the love and strength of those around me and that I found within me has brought me to a place of hope," the highly-acclaimed actor said in a statement.

"The journey of this is taking me out of the country, and I request everyone to continue sending their wishes. As for the rumours that were floated, neuro is not always about the brain and Googling is the easiest way to do research ;-) To those who waited for my words, I hope to be back with more stories to tell," the 51-year-old added.

Neuroendocrine tumours are described as rare and can occur anywhere in the body. It is a condition in which the neuroendocrine cells -- which perform specific functions such as regulating air and blood flow through the lungs and controlling how quickly food moves through the gastrointestinal tract -- develop into tumours.

Most neuroendocrine tumours occur in the lungs, appendix, small intestine, rectum and pancreas. They can be non-cancerous or malignant.

However, in Irrfan's case, he has not yet revealed which stage of the condition he is suffering or whether it is malignant or not.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of Opposition BJP in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka said the results of the bypolls in Davanagere South and Bagalkote assembly constituencies will decide the future of the ruling Congress in the state.

The bypolls were necessitated following the demise of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, who represented Davanagere South and Bagalkote constituencies respectively.

The ruling Congress has fielded Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s grandson and Karnataka Minister S S Mallikarjun’s son Samarth Shamanur in Davanagere South and Umesh Meti in Bagalkote, who are locked in a direct contest with BJP candidates T Dasakariyappa and Veerabhadrayya Charantimath.

According to Ashoka, there is a contest between the poor and the rich in the upcoming bypolls, scheduled on April 9.

"The Congress will lose this election, and the future of the state will be decided. Since Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said ‘Make the poor win’, the BJP has fielded poor candidates,” the BJP leader said in a press conference.

In Davanagere, the BJP has given a ticket to an ordinary person, whereas Congress has given tickets to powerful and influential people. In Bagalkote, there is a very good opinion about the BJP candidate, he claimed.

According to him, the Congress has given space to dynastic politics in both places. Therefore, the BJP has a strong chance of winning in both constituencies.

The LoP said if the Congress candidate wins in Davanagere, it is understood that Muslims will not get opportunities in the future, and therefore, Muslims are opposing the Congress party.

He also charged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who talks about uniting backward classes, has not given a ticket to backward class candidates.