MP assembly polls: State Congress chief Kamal Nath files nomination from Chhindwara
Chhindwara (MP) (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Congress president and former chief minister Kamal Nath on Thursday filed his nomination as the grand old party's candidate from Chhindwara seat - his pocket borough - for the next month's assembly elections.
The 76-year-old leader filed the nomination in the afternoon after offering prayers at a Ram temple here.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Bunty Sahu against Nath. The Congress leader had defeated Sahu by a margin of more than 25,000 in the by-election to the Chhindwara assembly constituency in 2019.
Talking to reporters after filing the nomination papers, Nath who is leading the party in the centrally-located state, told reporters that the people of Madhya Pradesh and Chhindwara will shower their blessing on the Congress.
Nath had represented the Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency for eight times. After becoming the chief minister in 2018, he had contested the assembly by-election after Congress MLA Deepak Saxena resigned from Chhindwara to make way for Nath to fight the polls.
The government led by Kamal Nath, which was formed in December 2018, lasted only 15 months as it collapsed in March 2020 after several MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress and joined the BJP. The development paved the way for the saffron party's return to power in the state with Shivraj Singh Chouhan becoming the chief minister once again.
Elections to the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly will be held on November 17, and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3.
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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.
