Maharashtra: BJP claims of winning maximum seats in nagar panchayat polls
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday claimed that his party has emerged as the single largest political force in the state and can lead 24 nagar panchayats.
Speaking to reporters here, Patil claimed that the BJP has so far won more than 400 seats in the recent elections held for 106 nagar panchayats in the state.
The elections were held for 106 nagar panchayats in the state, where the BJP has won more than 400 seats so far. We are in a strong position to lead 24 local bodies and we need the support of a couple of corporators to stake claim in another six towns, the senior leader said.
Despite being out of power in the state for nearly 26 months, the BJP has managed to record such success, he said.
This shows that our network of party workers and local leaders can deliver good results without the support of any government power or resources. The Shiv Sena got the chief minister's post, but it is struggling to remain in the third or fourth position in these elections, Patil said.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seems to be content with his post. He cares less for his party or party leaders, as they are losing ground across the state. The situation has benefitted the NCP, he said.
The BJP leader further claimed that the discontent among leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi was visible, and hence they have suffered in these local polls.
"The BJP has benefited to some extent. Some of our leaders will hold meetings in various parts of the state to introspect," he said.
The party will hold meetings in all the districts ahead of elections to 20 municipal corporations and 282 local bodies in the next two months, Patil said.
Former state minister and BJP leader from Beed district Pankaja Munde said, The MVA government's flip-flops on the OBC quota ahead of these polls has upset people. The three parties suffered a setback because they did not fight strongly for the OBCs. Despite having no official quota for the OBCs, the BJP gave tickets to leaders from the community, which benefitted us in the 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.
