Lionel Messi wins 5th Golden Shoe
Madrid, May 21 : Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has won his fifth European Golden Shoe after his team beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in its final La Liga Santander match of the season.
The Argentine player won the award with 34 goals, for a total of 68 points during the 2017-2018 season, Efe news reported on Sunday.
Messi also won the award last year, as well as in 2010, 2012 and 2013, and is the only player to do so five times.
It is worth noting that the award is given based on a points system, in which goals by the German, Spanish, English, Italian and French leagues account for two points each, while scores by Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Scotland, Greece, Netherlands, Israel, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine are worth 1.5 points.
Goals by any other European league are awarded only one point.
Trailing Messi in the standings for the Golden Shoe was Liverpool's Mohamed Salah - with 32 goals and 68 points - and Tottenham's Harry Kane, with 30 scores, accruing a total of 60 points.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
