K'taka polls: Denied ticket to contest, BJP MLA M P Kumaraswamy quits party
Bengaluru (PTI): Mudigere BJP MLA M P Kumaraswamy on Thursday announced his resignation from the party, after he was denied ticket to contest the Karnataka Assembly polls, and blamed national General Secretary C T Ravi for not getting nominated.
The three-time MLA said he will also be submitting his resignation as legislator to the Assembly Speaker soon.
In the BJP's second list of 23 candidates announced last night, Deepak Doddaiah was named as candidate from Mudigere.
Kumaraswamy hit out at BJP national General Secretary C T Ravi for not getting the ticket, and said he will decide on his next move after discussing with his supporters and people of his constituency. The MLA cited personal rivalry between him and Ravi as the reason for him missing the ticket.
Speculations are rife that the leader from SC community may join JD(S) or contest as an independent.
"I have sent in my resignation to the party office and will hand over (resignation as MLA) to the Speaker soon. I will discuss with my supporters and voters and decide my next move in a couple of days," he said.
"C T Ravi has ensured that I don't get a ticket due to personal reasons, he has that strength now as national general secretary. If I was in his position and he was in mine, I would have done the same thing," he said, and warned the BJP that Ravi will decimate the party.
Kumaraswamy said if veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa switches off his phone for a week, the party won't win even 50 seats. "Without Yediyurappa, people will not even come to BJP's meetings."
He questioned the reason as to why he was denied the ticket. "I have age and ability on my side."
Recently, there was a large-scale protest against Kumaraswamy by a section of party workers in the constituency, when Yediyurappa had visited there.
"I will submit my resignation to Speaker today," says MP Kumaraswamy, BJP MLA from Mudigere constituency after he was denied a ticket for the #KarnatakaElections2023 pic.twitter.com/J119nRJNyw
— ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2023
Also read: BJP releases second list of 23 candidates for Karnataka polls
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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.
