Sporadic violence, EVM glitches mar second phase of LS polls; voting picks up
New Delhi: Voting picked up by Thursday afternoon in 95 seats across 11 states and Union Territory of Puducherry in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections which were marred by an IED blast by Naxals in Chhattisgarh, police firing in West Bengal on stone pelters and EVM glitches.
Voting was also underway in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha and in 18 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.
In Tamil Nadu, polling is being held in 38 of the 39 LS seats. Polling in Vellore LS seat was cancelled Tuesday by the EC following recovery of cash allegedly from an associate of a DMK leader recently.
Besides Tamil Nadu, polling is being held in 14 seats in Karnataka, 10 in Maharashtra, eight in UP, five each in Assam, Bihar and Odisha, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, two in Jammu and Kashmir and one seat each in Manipur and Puducherry.
Amidst tight security, polling was underway in Srinagar Parliamentary constituency of Jammu and Kashmir to decide the fate of 10 candidates, including NC president Farooq Abdullah who is seeking a re-election.
Security personnel have been deployed in strength in and around polling stations in all three districts -- Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal -- of the constituency, officials said.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded nearly 30 per cent polling till 1 pm in Udhampur and Srinagar Lok Sabha constituencies, poll official said.
Polling in Chhattisgarh witnessed violence with an ITBP jawan suffering minor injuries after Naxals triggered an IED blast in Rajnandgaon district.
Long queues were seen at polling booths in Tamil Nadu where 30.62 per cent voting was recorded till 11am in 38 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state, with Chief Minister K Palaniswami and DMK chief M K Stalin among the early voters.
Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said polling has been peaceful until now and issues like technical glitches in some locations are being addressed.
In Karnataka, an estimated 19.58 per cent of voters exercised their franchise till 11 am in 14 constituencies.
Puducherry recorded 23 per cent voting till noon for the lone Lok Sabha, which is witnessing a battle between the ruling Congress and opposition AINRC.
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported in some areas of Bengal where around 51.6 per cent voters exercised their franchise till 1 PM in three Lok Sabha constituencies, officials said.
A reporter and a camera person of a local news channel were allegedly manhandled when they went to cover polling at Kataphulbari in the Raiganj constituency, they said.
Voters in Uttar Dinajpur district's Chopra under the Raiganj constituency reportedly put up a road blockade, complaining about the absence of central forces at the polling stations, the sources said.
Police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells to control a mob, after stones were pelted at them and bombs were hurled by unknown persons in Chopra , a senior EC official in the district said.
At least three persons were detained by police in this connection, he said.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) candidate from Raiganj Md Salim claimed that his car was attacked by unknown persons when he went to a polling booth at Islampur in Uttar Dinajpur.
Bihar recorded 25.6 per cent voting in five Lok Sabha seats till noon amidst reports of EVM malfunctioning and poll boycott delaying start of polling in some booths.
Voting was delayed due to EVM malfunctioning at a polling station at Masuria in Banka town, two polling booths under Kahalgaon assembly segment in Bhagalpur, and another two booths in Purnea.
Poll boycott was reported from a booth under Amarpur assembly segment in Banka, the official said.
People also did not cast vote in the initial hours at two polling stations under the same assembly segment as they were protesting killing of a farmer at Kaitha village. The process began only after 10.15 am.
In Odisha, around 18 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling in five Lok Sabha and 35 assembly constituencies.
Maharashtra registered 21.47 per cent voting till 11 am in 10 constituencies where polling was underway.
In Nanded, there were complaints of malfunctioning of 78 electronic voting machines (EVMs).
In UP, voting picked up with more than 38 per cent of the electorate exercising their franchise till 1 pm in eight parliamentary constituencies.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav voiced concern over reports of EVM malfunctions in some parts of the Uttar Pradesh.
In Assam, an estimated 46.42 per cent of over 69 lakh electorate exercised their franchise till 1 pm in five parliamentary constituencies.
According to the official, there were reports of EVM glitches in several booths, but the polling personnel have addressed the issues.
A former prime minister and four union ministers are in the fray in this phase of Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP is looking to defend 27 seats.
The Congress, besides seeking to defend 12 of the seats it won in 2014 polls and aiming to improve its performance in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha.
Over 15.80 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 1,600-odd contestants.
Lok Sabha polls are being held in seven-phases for 543 seats on April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19, and counting will be on May 23.
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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.
