BJP raises poll pitch in Old Mysuru region, key to its ambition to regain power in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): With Assembly elections round the corner, the BJP is focused on the Old Mysuru region, where significant electoral gains are seen to be crucial for the party to come back to power in Karnataka on its own.
For decades, the BJP has struggled to spread its wings in the Vokkaliga community-dominated Old Mysuru region, with the well entrenched JD(S) and Congress holding sway.
The region comprises Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Kolar, Tumakuru and Hassan districts.
JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) D K Shivakumar belong to this community.
Among the 58 Assembly seats in these districts, JD(S) represents 24, Congress 18 and BJP 15. BJP also has the backing of expelled BSP MLA N Mahesh, who represents Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district.
In the Vokkaliga heartland of Mandya district, the JD(S) has six out of seven MLAs, three of four MLAs in Ramanagara and six of the seven seats in Hassan.
The JD(S) has four out of 11 seats in Mysuru, whereas the Congress has four and BJP three in this district.
The regional party also has three seats in Tumakuru but the party is wary about the Gubbi MLA S R Srinivas who allegedly voted in favour of the BJP candidate during the Rajya Sabha elections in June last year.
The BJP top brass has acknowledged that improving the electoral tally in this region is key to regaining power on its own steam.
The party came to power in Karnataka four times and every time it emerged as the single largest party but fell short of the majority mark.
Twice, the party had to allegedly resort to 'Operation Lotus' to woo disgruntled opposition members and form a majority government.
The BJP, however, put up an impressive show in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, winning 25 of the 28 seats.
Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh won from Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency and JD(S) supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna emerged victorious in Hassan.
To BJP's comfort, the party backed independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh won from Mandya constituency, which had always been a JD(S) citadel.
The actor-turned-politician Sumalatha who defeated Deve Gowda's grandson and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, extended her 'full support' to the BJP on March 11, a day ahead of Prime Minister's visit to Mandya to launch a slew of projects including the most ambitious one Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway.
The inauguration could have been done either in Mysuru or Bengaluru, but the Prime Minister opted for Mandya.
"The voters of Mandya hardly get carried away by emotional issues," a political analyst said.
The JD(S) suffered a blow when the KR Pet MLA K C Narayana Gowda ditched the party during the "Operation Lotus" in 2019 and was among the MLAs who resigned from the Assembly, joined the BJP and successfully contested the by-election on a BJP ticket and became a minister.
With this, the BJP got its first legislator from the JD(S) citadel, Mandya.
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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.
