Mumbai's next mayor will be 'Hindu-Marathi' and from ruling Mahayuti: Fadnavis
Mumbai (PTI): As political campaigning heats up for the city's top civic post, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday that the next Mayor of Mumbai will come from the ruling alliance and will be "both Hindu and Marathi."
His comments come as the push for the important Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections builds, with polling set for January 15 and results to be announced on January 16.
“The Mumbai mayor will be from the Mahayuti (BJP-led ruling alliance). The Mumbai mayor will be a Hindu and a Marathi person,” Fadnavis said, responding to a question.
The issue had snowballed after Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam recently remarked that his party would not allow any "Khan" to become the city's mayor, triggering sharp reactions from the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
After uniting with Sena (UBT) chief and his cousin Uddhav Thackeray recently, MNS president Raj Thackeray had declared that "Mumbai's mayor will be Marathi, and he will be ours".
Fadnavis has now sharpened his party BJP's pitch by stating that Mumbai will have a Hindu and Marathi mayor, further intensifying the political sparring as campaigning for elections to the 227-member municipal corporation, India's biggest and richest civic body, gathers pace.
The BJP Chief Minister made the remarks while speaking to ‘Mumbai Tak’ news channel during an interaction, titled ‘Mahachavadi’, as he travelled on the city’s underground Metro line and answered questions on a range of political issues.
About a query concerning former state minister and his party colleague Kripashankar Singh’s reported comments about a north Indian becoming the mayor, the CM said, “Singh had not made the remark in the context of Mumbai. He is not even an official party spokesperson.”
Singh said on Wednesday that efforts would be made to ensure the election of a “north Indian and Hindi-speaking” mayor in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Elections to 29 municipal corporations in the state, including the BMC, will be held on January 15.
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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.
