AAP releases 2nd list of 29 candidates for MP polls
question mark over electoral alliance of INDIA bloc allies in state
Bhopal (PTI): The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a key constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, released its second list of 29 candidates for the year-end assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.
The move of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has further reduced the possibility of the INDIA bloc alliance working in the MP elections.
So far, the AAP has declared candidates on 39 seats for upcoming assembly polls in the state. It had released its first list of 10 candidates earlier last month.
The second list of candidates included Mamta Meena, a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, who had joined the AAP during last month after she was denied a ticket by the saffron party from Chachoura. The AAP has fielded her from the same constituency.
In the list, released through the AAP's X account on Monday night, the candidates for three Scheduled Tribe (ST) and four Scheduled Caste (SC) reserved seats were also declared.
The AAP also declared two candidates from Bhopal city including Mohammed Saud (Bhopal North) and Raisa Begum Malik (Narela).
From Indore district, three candidates were declared - Sunil Choudhary (Mhow), Anurag Yadav (Indore-1) and Piyush Joshi (Indore-4).
The list includes the names of Ramani Devi Jatav (Bhander), Rahul Kushwaha (Bhind), Satinder Bhadoriya (Mehgaon), Chahat Mani Pandey (Damoh), Chanda Kinnar (Malhara), Sunil Choudhary (Mhow), Bheru Singh Anare (Gandhwani), Anoop Goyal (Shivpuri), Sunil Gour (Seoni-Malwa), Anand Singh (Bargi), Pankaj Pathak (Panagar) and Vijay Mohan Palha (Patan).
The AAP, which is currently in power in Delhi and Punjab, also fielded Nan Singh Nawde (Sendhwa), Dilip Singh Guddu (Deotalab), Varun Ambedkar (Mangawan), Umesh Tripathi (Mauganj), Varun Gujjar Khatik (Raigaon), Usha Kol (Manpur), Ratibhan Saket (Devsar), Anand Mangal Singh (Sidhi), Amit Bhatnagar (Bijawar), Bhagirath Patel (Chhatarpur), Subodh Swami (Nagda-Khachrod) and Deepak Singh Patel (Rewa).
The ruling BJP in MP has so far declared 79 candidates in three separate lists, while the Congress has not issued any list of candidates so far.
The AAP and the Congress, two key members of the opposition INDIA bloc, have not yet decided whether they will fight the polls as alliance partners or not in the MP elections.
After a meeting in Delhi during last month, INDIA bloc had announced a joint rally in Bhopal in the first week of October but MP Congress chief Kamal Nath later said that it has been cancelled.
In the last assembly elections held in 2018, the Congress had won 114 seats in the 230-member Assembly and form a coalition government. The BJP had won 109 seats. The Congress government led by Kamal Nath collapsed in March 2020, following which the BJP returned to power and Shivraj Singh Chouhan became the chief minister for the fourth time.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
