Civic polls: 68 Mahayuti candidates elected unopposed, including 44 of BJP
Mumbai (PTI): The BJP and its Mahayuti allies have won 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls scheduled for January 15, even as the Opposition parties alleged the ruling combine used threats and money to force candidates to withdraw from the fray.
Across the state, as many as 68 candidates from the BJP and the Mahayuti have been elected unopposed, reflecting the party's growing strength in urban local bodies, BJP leader Keshav Upadhye said on Friday.
This includes 44 from the BJP, with the highest number being from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Thane district, followed by Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar.
BJP candidates Manjusha Nagpure and Shrikant Jagtap from Pune's ward number 35 were elected unopposed after their opponents withdrew their nomination forms. The two were elected from the ward between 2017 and 2022.
Hailing the wins, Union minister and senior BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol said the next mayor of Pune will be from his party.
"We have a target of 125 seats, out of which we have already won two, so 123 are remaining. Two seats were won unopposed. This is a certificate for our party's good governance," Mohol claimed.
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has seen 22 of its candidates getting elected unopposed, while the figure was two for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party.
BJP leaders attributed the trend to the popularity of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and what they described as the successful electoral strategy of state unit president Ravindra Chavan.
These have helped the BJP emerge as a dominant force not only in municipal councils but also in major municipal corporations, the leaders added.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, meanwhile, accused the ruling dispensation of using money and threats to get opposition candidates to withdraw from the fray.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, in a post on X, claimed that returning officers had been directed to accept the withdrawal of nomination from candidates till late in the night.
These withdrawals of nomination were to be considered as if they had been presented before the 3 pm deadline on Friday, he claimed.
"A friend of mine, who is in this election process, said this (accepting the form beyond 3 pm) would not be appropriate. He was told by the guardian minister, in a tone that sounded both a request and as a threat, that he should listen to what the local MLA says," Raut claimed.
This is mobocracy in the name of democracy. One day, there will be a public uprising like in Bangladesh and Nepal, he further claimed.
The Shiv Sena on Friday claimed five of its candidates have been elected unopposed to the 131-member Thane Municipal Corporation.
Six BJP candidates have been elected unopposed after the scrutiny of nomination papers for the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) polls in Maharashtra's Thane district, the party claimed.
Three Shiv Sena candidates and one BJP contestant were declared unopposed following the scrutiny of nomination papers for the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation polls in Thane district, an official said on Thursday.
"Why do you hold polls if you want to win them before voting. Both the ruling parties should distribute it amongst themselves. Democracy has ended in India and the state. They chose weak candidates of the opposition and got their work done," MNS leader Avinash Jadhav said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant also accused the ruling parties of putting pressure on Opposition candidates to ensure such unopposed victories.
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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.
