Udupi: K. Raghupati Bhat, the BJP candidate for Udupi Assembly constituency, has urged Lakshmivara Tirtha Swami of Shiroor Mutt to back him.

Speaking to media persons here, Bhat said the seer was expecting the BJP ticket but did not get it. “So he should support me as I am the BJP candidate,” he said.

Replying to a query, Bhat said the Shiroor seer contesting as an Independent candidate would not help Congress candidate Pramod Madhwaraj as the seer would eat into not just BJP votes but also Congress votes.

The seer filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate here on Saturday. He had earlier said he was not happy with the functioning of the local unit of the BJP and that it was mired in corruption.

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Ranchi, Aug 15 (PTI): Jharkhand Education Minister Ramdas Soren died on Friday, JMM national spokesperson Kunal Sarangi said.

He was 62.

Soren was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Delhi, where he was admitted on August 2.

"State Education Minister Ramdas Soren, who was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Delhi, is no more," Sarangi told PTI.

Soren's condition was critical and he was on life support, Sarangi said.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was airlifted to the hospital in the national capital from Jamshedpur after he fell in the bathroom of his residence on August 2.

A multidisciplinary team of senior specialists was closely monitoring his condition and providing intensive medical care.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled his death.

Hemant Soren, in a post on X, wrote, "Ramdas Da (brother) should not have left us like this. Last greetings to Dada..."

Ramdas Soren, born in Ghorabandha village in East Singhbhum district on January 1, 1963, began his political journey as the gram pradhan of the Ghorabanda panchayat, eventually rising to become one of the most influential ministers in the Hemant Soren-led cabinet.

He won the Ghatshila assembly seat for the third time in 2024 by defeating BJP's Babulal Soren, son of former chief minister Champai Soren.