India, July 12 -- Lindsey Graham, the longtime South Carolina senator whose rise from a blue-collar background to the heart of Republican politics made him one of the party's most recognisable figures, died on Saturday.

The 71-year-old was a key ally of US president Donald Trump and one of the most influential conservative voices in Congress.

The news of his death was announced on his official X account, with his office attributing it to a "brief and sudden illness".

Born and raised in the small town of Central in South Carolina, Graham came from a working-class family. His parents operated a restaurant and pool hall, and he often spoke about the values he learned while growing up in a blue-collar household, a biography on his official...