Congress facing impending rout in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh: Prashant Kishor
Patna, May 20: Political strategist Prashant Kishor on Friday asserted that the Congress was facing an "impending electoral rout" in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, states ruled by the BJP where assembly polls are due later this year.
The I-PAC founder, whose proposed induction into the Congress for reviving the grand old party proved to be a non-starter, also expressed the view that the recent 'chintan shivir' could not achieve "anything meaningful".
"I have been repeatedly asked to comment on the outcome of #UdaipurChintanShivir...in my view, it failed to achieve anything meaningful other than prolonging the status quo and giving some time to the Congress leadership, at least till the impending electoral rout in Gujarat and HP!" Kishor tweeted.
Kishor, whose much-publicised blueprint for reviving the Congress turned out to be a non-starter, has since launched a political movement 'Jan Suraaj', aimed at transforming the politics in his home state of Bihar.
The I-PAC founder, who shot to fame after handling the tremendously successful election campaign of Narendra Modi in 2014, had previously worked with the Congress in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
While in UP, where Kishor complained that his advice was never heeded, the Congress came a cropper, in Punjab the party wrested power from the Akali Dal-BJP combine under the leadership of Amarinder Singh, who quit the party at the end of his chief ministerial tenure.
Kishor's impressive clientele includes, most notably, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who trounced the BJP in a high-voltage assembly election held last year.
In Bihar, he had in 2015 helped the alliance of archrivals Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, which included Congress as a junior partner, win a handsome victory in assembly polls that had dealt a heavy blow to the image of invincibility the BJP-led NDA had come to enjoy following the Lok Sabha polls a year earlier.
Kishor was later inducted by Nitish Kumar into JD(U) and elevated as national vice president, only to be sacked in the thick of the CAA-NPR-NRC controversy when the former strategist's strident stance put the party, now back with the NDA, in a tight spot.
I’ve been repeatedly asked to comment on the outcome of #UdaipurChintanShivir
— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) May 20, 2022
In my view, it failed to achieve anything meaningful other than prolonging the status-quo and giving some time to the #Congress leadership, at least till the impending electoral rout in Gujarat and HP!
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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.
