Chandigarh: AAP cries foul as BJP candidate wins mayoral election
Chandigarh, Jan 8: The BJP on Saturday swept the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation mayoral polls and its municipal councillor Sarabjit Kaur became the new mayor.
The saffron party also bagged the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the Chandigarh MC. The mayor's post was reserved for a woman candidate this year.
However, the AAP called the poll results a "murder of democracy".
BJP's Sarabjit Kaur defeated Aam Aadmi Party's Anju Katyal by one vote in a direct contest.
Out of the total 36 votes, 28 were polled, while seven Congress councillors and the lone Shiromani Akali Dal councillor abstained.
Kaur bagged 14 votes and Katyal got 13, officials said, adding that one was declared invalid.
The Aam Aadmi Party was contesting the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls for the first time.
After the result was declared, AAP councillors created a ruckus in the House, with some of them reaching near the mayor's chair and holding a protest.
Crying foul play, they tried to stop the new mayor from addressing the House. First, marshals were called in and later police were called to remove the protesting councillors who were standing near the mayor's chair.
BJP's Dalip Sharma became the senior deputy mayor after he trounced AAP's Prem Lata by a margin of two votes. Sharma polled 15 and Lata got 13 votes, indicating that one AAP councillor cross voted.
BJP's Arun Gupta won the post of deputy mayor as he defeated AAP's Ram Chander Yadav. There was a tie as both the candidates got 14 votes each. Then after a draw of lots, BJP's Gupta was declared deputy mayor.
BJP councillor Mahesh Inder Singh Sidhu was the presiding officer and Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh chaired the election process.
The results of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls which were declared on December 27, threw up a hung House, with the AAP winning 14 of the 35 wards and the BJP 12.
The Congress had bagged eight seats and the Shiromani Akali Dal got one.
Days after the polls results were declared, municipal councillor from the Congress Harpreet Kaur Babla joined the BJP.
Besides 35 councillors, the Chandigarh MP, who is an ex-officio member in the municipal corporation, also has a voting right.
Later, Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab and Chandigarh affairs in-charge Jarnail Singh accused the BJP of "murdering democracy" in the mayoral election of Chandigarh.
He said that in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections, the residents of the city had voted the Aam Aadmi Party to the most number of seats at 14.
AAP's victory in the mayor's election was certain, but the BJP deliberately got an AAP vote "cancelled" by insulting the 'fatwa' of the public and declared its mayor forcibly, he alleged.
Singh said the elections for the mayor of Chandigarh clearly showed that there was "a clandestine understanding between the BJP and the Congress" to defeat the AAP in the mayoral elections.
Somehow BJP's vote figure reached 14, equalling AAP, by including the vote of a member of Parliament, but the party flouted all rules and regulations, and got its candidate appointed as the mayor, he alleged.
Singh also accused officials of Chandigarh of helping the BJP and said that in order to maintain fairness of the election, votes should be re-counted and the mayor should be re-elected, failing which the AAP will resort to a legal action.
Chandigarh Mayoral polls
— Rajinder S Nagarkoti रजिन्दर सिंह नगरकोटी (@nagarkoti) January 8, 2022
Scenes inside MC house 👇 pic.twitter.com/ZZz1o88trV
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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.
