Mumbai (PTI): TV actor Gaurav Khanna is the winner of the popular reality TV show “Bigg Boss” season 19 after he beat rival Farrhana Bhatt to claim the trophy.

Show host and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan presented Khanna with the prize money of over Rs 50 lakh and the trophy.

"It is yet to sink in. It is very surreal for me now. I received so much of love. What I love about it that I didn't change a bit. I am the same when I went inside the house and came out and people like that (quality) a lot. I didn't change or faked anything," Khanna told PTI in an interview,

The TV star, known for his roles in "Anupama" and "CID", said the turning point was when the the superstar host expressed his desire to work with him.

"I cried at that very moment," he added.

Asked what he will do with the winning amount, Khanna said he will take the advantage of his MBA degree and invest it wisely.

The season 19 of the show, which kickstarted on August 24, saw Bhatt emerge as the first runner-up.

Bhatt, who has acted in movies like "Laila Majnu" and "Notebook", said she is happy that she got a chance to win many hearts while on the show.

"I never had my eyes on trophy. I was just going with the flow, doing my best and trying to contribute 100 per cent. When I came out and saw the love of the people, I didn't feel the sadness of not winning the trophy. I was like whoever wants to win trophy can win, I have won hearts outside. So I am very happy and I not sad at all," she said.

The stand-up comedian Pranit More ended up in the third spot.

Content creator Tanya Mittal was at the four position and composer Amaal Malik settled at the fifth place.

The highlights of “Bigg Boss 19” was the spiritual content creator Mittal who found a new fame inside the house due to her distinct equation with each housemates.

The grand finale also saw Bollywood star Kartik Aryan promote his upcoming film "Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri" along with the co-star Ananya Pandey. TV actor Karan Kundrra and Sunny Leone, and Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh also marked their attendance.

At the beginning of the show, Khan thanked “Big Boss” fans and followers for their love and support for the contestants.

Khan also paid tribute to late superstar Dharmendra. Khan, who shared a personal bond with Dharmendra, said there won't be any one like the late superstar who gave 60 years of entertainment.

An emotional Khan said he lost Dharmendra on his father Salim Khan's birthday which was on 24th October.

This season of "Bigg Boss" had a blend of actors, influencers, musicians, and reality stars.

Awez Darbar, Ashnoor Kaur, Kunickaa Sadanand, Mridul Tiwari, Basheer Ali, Abhishek Bajaj, Zeishan Quadri, Nehal Chudasama, Nagma Mirajkar and Neelam Giri were also among the participants of season 19.

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New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.

“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.

The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.

Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.

“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.

“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.

In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.

“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.

The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.

According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.

On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.