Bengaluru, Jul 27: Chief Minister-designate Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said he would strive to offer relief to people affected by COVID-19 and floods and improve the economic condition of Karnataka, hit hard by the pandemic.

"I will work day and night to offer relief to the people in distress due to COVID or the recent floods.

I will initiate all steps to improve the economic condition of the state in the coming days," he told reporters.

Following torrential rains, parts of the state had witnessed floods in recent days.

Soon after he was elected as the new leader of the BJP Legislature Party, Bommai thanked the BJP leaders, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and outgoing Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa who reposed faith in him to lead the state.

He said he would work hard to live up to the expectations of the Prime Minister and Yediyurppa on the development front.

"I will win everyone's trust with the help of my cabinet colleagues and my party workers," Bommai said.

He said the seniors in the party have blessed him and he would take everyone along.

Yediyurappa resigned on Monday, coinciding with his government completing two years in office.

Meanwhile, news of Bommai set to becoming the next Chief Minister triggered celebrations in Shiggaon town in the district headquarters of Haveri.

Shiggaon is from where Bommai got elected to the Karnataka assembly.

Bommai's supporters hit the roads, burst crackers and raised slogans in favour of their leader.

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Mumbai (PTI): Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan has met auto-rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana, who rushed him to hospital after he was injured in the knife attack at his home in Mumbai, and thanked him for the help.

The actor also gave the driver some money and assured all help to him whenever needed.

Khan (54) was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th-floor apartment in the upscale Bandra area in the wee hours of January 16.

The actor suffered multiple stab injuries in the attack and underwent an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital. He returned home on Tuesday.

Khan met Singh Rana on Tuesday at the hospital before getting discharged.

"I met him (Saif) yesterday at the hospital. He called to thank me, to help him reach the hospital. He praised me. I got the blessings from him and his family," the auto-rickshaw driver told PTI.

"He (Khan) introduced me to his mother (Sharmila Tagore), and I touched her feet. He gave me (money) whatever he felt was right, and said whenever I need help he will be there," Singh Rana said.

The intruder, Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, a Bangladeshi national who had illegally entered India and changed his name to Vijay Das, was held on Sunday from adjoining Thane city.

A preliminary investigation suggests the accused had entered the actor's home intending to commit theft, according to police.

He gained entry into the actor's building here by scaling its compound wall and went inside the main entrance after finding the security guards asleep, the police earlier said.