No day passes without news of leaders quitting BJP: Sharad Pawar on desertions in UP ahead of polls
Mumbai, Jan 13: NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said BJP leaders confidently predicted till 15 days back that their party will come back to power in Uttar Pradesh, but now not a single day passes without the news of some or the other leader quitting the saffron outfit.
His remarks come amid BJP ministers and legislators quitting the party in UP ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in the state.
Notably, eight BJP MLAs, including three ministers, have resigned over the past three days.
"If you look at the picture in Uttar Pradesh, BJP leaders were saying 15 days ago, there is no reason to look at anyone in Uttar Pradesh (that the party will come back to power)," Pawar said at an NCP event.
"Those in the cabinet are also leaving the BJP. This is happening in Uttar Pradesh and (at the level of) districts in the state," Pawar said.
The NCP supremo, who has extended support to the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party in UP, said be it Goa or wherever the polls are to be held, one can see the same picture.
"The process has begun," he said, alluding to a possible setback that the BJP might face in the Assembly polls.
Pawar also claimed that the BJP has a different ideology with not having in its mind the interest of the common man.
There are ups and downs in politics. These fluctuations sometimes take a person to a higher ground, he said.
But, once the common man decides, then no matter how powerful a person is at the top, he cannot stand up in front of the united force of the common people, the former Union minister said.
Earlier this week, Pawar had said 13 members of the Legislative Assembly in Uttar Pradesh will be joining the Samajwadi Party.
Notably, prominent OBC leaders in UP like Dara Singh Chauhan, Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini have quit the BJP in the last three days.
Earlier this week, Goa minister Michael Lobo and state BJP MLA Pravin Zantye also quit the party. Last month, Alina Saldanha, the sitting BJP MLA from Cortalim in Goa, joined the Aam Aadmi Party.
The UP Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in seven phases over the next two months, and the polls in Goa will be held on February 14.
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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.
