"Out of bounds": Curious case of 2 "banned-entry" candidates in K'taka Assembly polls
Bengaluru (PTI): Two "banned-entry" candidates Vinay Kulkarni and G Janardhana Reddy present a picture of a peculiar case in the run-up to the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections.
While the Congress candidate Kulkarni can't go to Dharwad, the constituency he is contesting from, following a court-imposed ban, Reddy fielded his wife in Ballari city as he is barred from entry there.
Kulkarni's wife Shivaleela filed the nomination on his behalf.
"Our supporters are backing us with a firm belief that 'Saheb' will come here. In his absence I am seeking the blessings of the voters asking them treat me as 'Saheb'," she told reporters.
Since video and phone calls are the only means to reach out to his voters, Kulkarni in a video message said, "I will immerse myself for you and my constituency. You are my strength who backed me today."
Former Minister Kulkarni was arrested and remanded to judicial custody in November 2020 in connection with the murder of BJP leader and Zilla Panchayat member Yogeshgouda Goudar in June 2016.
He was granted bail by the Supreme Court on the condition that he would not be allowed to enter Dharwad, the district known as cultural capital of Karnataka as it produced acclaimed literatteurs and music maestros, without the permission of the jurisdictional court.
The jurisdictional Special Court in Bengaluru had rejected his request requesting entry, after which he had approached the High Court where his petition was dismissed by Justice K Natarajan on Friday.
Kulkarni's advocate had argued that he needs to be in the constituency to campaign.
The HC observed that the party, which gave him ticket to contest, should have known that he was forbidden by the court from entering Dharwad.
The case of former mining baron Janardhana Reddy of the famed 'Reddy brothers of Ballari' is not much different compared to Kulkarni.
A former BJP minister, Reddy has been barred by the apex court from entering Ballari in Karnataka and Anantapur and YSR Kadapa districts in Andhra Pradesh in connection with illegal mining case.
Reddy had severed ties with the BJP and floated a new party Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRPP). His brothers G Karunakara Reddy and G Somashekhara Reddy are with the BJP and are contesting from Ballari City and Harapanahalli, respectively, on the party ticket.
Since he is not allowed to enter Ballari, Reddy chose to contest from neighbouring Gangavathi in Koppal district.
The KRPP leader has fielded his wife Lakshmi Aruna G from Ballari City constituency against his brother Somashekhara Reddy.
Lakshmi Aruna was in tears on the day of filing her nomination papers as she missed her husband, who could not accompany with her.
She sought the blessings of voters to complete the projects such as ring road, airport, superspecialty hospital and drinking water, which Janardhana Reddy had started but "halted midway."
Janardhana Reddy said: "I am concentrating only in those constituencies wherever I have the scope of winning the election. My target is to win 20 to 28 seats. I am building party at the booth level with the available strength," he had told reporters.
Barred entry, Reddy cannot canvass for his wife or any other candidates that the party has fielded in Ballari district it considers as its stronghold.
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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.
