BMC polls: Two BJP nominees secure tickets but fail to submit nomination papers
Mumbai (PTI): Two candidates of the BJP for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections failed to submit their forms on Tuesday, when the deadline to submit nominations ended, triggering a blame game between officials and aspirants.
Shakeel Ansari and Mandakini Khamkar were fielded from ward numbers 211 and 212, and their names had figured in the official list of the BJP.
Returning Officer Krishna Jadhav, who is in charge of both wards, told PTI that no nomination papers were received from the two candidates before the 5 PM deadline on December 30.
"I have not received nomination papers of the BJP candidates. So there are no candidates of the party from both the wards," he said.
More than 2,500 nomination forms have been submitted before the deadline for 227 corporator seats in Mumbai for the January 15, 2026, elections.
Ansari and Khamkar were supposed to make a debut in the civic polls.
Khamkar claimed she was outside the returning officer's office at 4:47 PM, when she was informed that her form would not be accepted. She was not even allowed to enter the RO office in ward 212.
"The RO decided to stop allowing entries around 4:30 pm. I arrived by 4:10 pm and had already completed procedures when officials told us they wouldn't accept any more forms.
"I received my AB form a bit late. I reached there around 4 pm., but the presence of many other independents caused delays in filing my nomination," she told reporters.
She blamed the returning officers for refusing to accept the forms.
"How can they deny the forms of BJP, the national party?" she asked.
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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.
