KCR's Bharat Rashtra Samithi to back Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka Assembly elections
Bengaluru: Describing the Janata Dal (Secular) a "natural ally", the Bharat Rashtra Samithi has decided to throw its weight fully behind the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led party in the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka, BRS sources said on Sunday.
Telangana's governing party was earlier weighing its option of fielding its candidates in some districts bordering Telangana in Kalyana-Karnataka (earlier known as Hyderabad-Karnataka) as part of its strategy to expand nationally but that plan is no longer on the table now.
"JD(S) is our natural ally and we will go with the party. We want to ensure that the JD(S) is successful in the elections", a senior leader of BRS, headed by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. also known as KCR, told PTI.
Sources said KCR would definitely campaign for JD(S) candidates, particularly in segments where "Telugu-speaking people are densely populated", as a BRS leader put it.
Assembly elections are due in Karnataka by May.
JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata last week and requested the TMC boss to campaign in the Karnataka Assembly polls.
"Mamata Banerjee has agreed to Kumaraswamy's request to campaign in Karnataka. She has asked him to send her a schedule", a JD(S) leader had said after the meeting in the West Bengal capital.
Kumaraswamy had attended the meeting of opposition parties convened by Banerjee in Kolkata in January 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha poll that year.
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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.
