Hassan ticket: Kumaraswamy reiterates that JD(S) worker will be given priority
Hassan (PTI): As ticket distribution for the Hassan constituency continues to be a major bone of contention for the JD(S) ahead of Karnataka Assembly polls, its leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday reiterated his stand that a party worker will be given priority.
With Kumaraswamy's sister-in-law Bhavani Revanna, who has thrown her hat in the ring for the Hassan ticket, not relenting, despite his clear stance that she will not be fielded and favouring a party worker as the candidate, the issue seems to have resulted in a conundrum within the JD(S) and its first family led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.
"Regarding Hassan, I have already said that a party worker will be given the priority, I'm reiterating the same thing today that the party worker will be given priority," Kumaraswamy told reporters here.
Responding to a question about taking his 'Pancharatna Ratha Yatre' to Hassan Assembly segment, he said: "I have kept the schedule blank on March 18. You might have understood the reason for it, if things (candidate for Hassan) get smoothly decided by then, the programme will happen in Hassan, let's see."
The former chief minister is undertaking the 'Pancharatna Ratha Yatre', a statewide tour ahead of polls, to inform people about a five-fold programme called 'Pancharatna' that the JD(S) plans to implement on coming to power, which includes quality education, farmers welfare and employment.
Kumaraswamy is keen on fielding H P Swaroop, a former Hassan zilla panchayat vice-president and son of former MLA late H S Prakash, in the constituency.
While, Bhavani Revanna, a former Hassan zilla panchayat member, is the wife of Kumaraswamy's elder brother and former minister H D Revanna, and daughter-in-law of Deve Gowda. She seems to have the backing of her husband and sons Prajwal and Suraj Revanna, MP from Hassan and an MLC respectively.
Both Bhavani and Swaroop have continued to visit various parts of the constituency, despite the confusion over the candidate for the seat.
With no signs of both sides relenting, Kumaraswamy, Revanna and other leaders of the party have said that party patriarch Deve Gowda, will have the final say on the matter, after discussing with leaders.
JD(S) has already announced the first list of 93 candidates for Assembly polls, likely by May.
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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.
