Don't rob Gen Z of votes: Uddhav demands cancellation of 68 'unopposed' civic wins
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday urged the State Election Commission to cancel results in 68 civic wards where ruling Mahayuti nominees were declared winners unopposed, saying uncontested victories effectively rob 'Gen Z' and first-time voters of their voting right.
Sharing the stage with MNS chief Raj Thackeray to unveil their joint manifesto for the upcoming polls to the Mumbai civic body, Uddhav warned that democracy must not be overrun by "mobocracy.”
The former chief minister launched a scathing attack on the Mahayuti government, saying that since his government was dislodged and Eknath Shinde helmed the state (in June 2022), the wealth of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is being splurged on contractors.
He claimed that after vote-stealing, the ruling parties are now stealing candidates.
Accusing the BJP of double standards, Raj Thackeray said the BJP had approached the Supreme Court in similar instances in West Bengal, where ruling party candidates were chosen unopposed in local body polls, and asked the ruling party to clarify this issue.
Incidentally, the BJP has gone on the offensive on the issue of unopposed victories as 68 candidates from the Mahayuti, including 44 from the BJP, have won without contest in Maharashtra, mainly due to the withdrawal of contestants from other parties or rebels.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, at a road show in Chandrapur during the day, said the people's mandate would prevail even if opposition parties approach the court.
"They can certainly go to court, but the people's court has elected us. Even if they (opposition parties) move the court, people's mandate will prevail in court," Fadnavis said while questioning the Opposition's silence on unopposed wins of independents and Muslim candidates.
"It is because they can see their defeat clearly and are now trying to find excuses," said the chief minister.
Referring to the uncontested victories in the run-up to the January 15 elections to 29 civic bodies, Uddhav said, "If the SEC has courage, it should cancel elections where candidates were chosen unopposed and initiate the poll process again in those civic wards.”
The unopposed election of candidates is akin to denying voters, especially the 'GenZ' electorate, the chance to exercise their franchise, he added.
Uddhav said that if the BMC's (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's) expenditure budget is Rs 15,000 crore, then the amount needed to give to contractors for different works in the form of advance mobilisation is Rs 3 lakh crore, which is a "scam".
He alleged kickback money was being used for the civic polls.
Uddhav demanded the suspension of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who has been accused of interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the exercise.
"He is a Speaker. He doesn't belong to any party and has the responsibility to conduct work without any allegiance. He should be booked for violating the poll code," Uddhav said.
Narwekar, a BJP MLA from Colaba in south Mumbai, has dismissed the charges as baseless and politically motivated.
The Thackeray cousins suggested that the sons-of-the-soil issue would be one of the central themes of the elections, especially in their home turf of Mumbai.
Raj Thackeray said the mayor of Mumbai and other cities will be a Marathi individual, emphasising that the local language should be respected.
In a warning to the ruling dispensation, he said power is not permanent and claimed the BJP was setting a wrong precedent.
The ruling party should not complain when its successors resort to such tactics in a more refined way, he stressed.
A total of 15,931 candidates are in the fray for 2869 seats spread across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. Except for Mumbai, which has 227 seats, the rest are multi-member wards.
Votes will be counted on January 16.
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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.
