Shivpal declares support to Murmu in prez polls; blames Akhilesh for allies' alienation
Lucknow(PTI): Socialist leader Shivpal Yadav on Saturday said he has "decided" to vote for the NDA candidate in the presidential polls, Droupadi Murmu, and blamed Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav's "political immaturity" for allies leaving him.
Talking to reporters here, the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) president recalled that he had earlier said he would vote for the candidate who seeks his support in the July 18 presidential polls and since Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has sought his vote, he has pledged his support to the NDA nominee for the top constitutional post.
"Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has sought my vote and I have decided that I will vote for Murmu," Shivpal Yadav said.
"I had already said the person who will seek my vote will get it. (President) Ram Nath Kovind had twice sought my vote (during the previous presidential polls) and I had supported him," he added.
Shivpal Yadav, along with SP ally Om Prakash Rajbhar, attended a dinner hosted by Adityanath in honour of Murmu on Friday, indicating cracks in the opposition alliance led by Akhilesh Yadav.
Shivpal Yadav won the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls earlier in the year from his traditional Jaswant Nagar seat in Etawah on an SP ticket. But "chacha" and "bhatija" fell out with each other after the opposition camp faced yet another defeat in the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Since then their relationship has been on a slide.
Apparently hinting that he has been sidelined, a visibly upset Shivpal Yadav said, "I was never called to any meeting (of the SP) and no information was given to me."
"That day (July 7), when (opposition) presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha came to Lucknow, I was not called, nor my vote was sought. I think this is not political maturity. It is because of this that the friends of the alliance are leaving it," the veteran leader added.
Keshav Dev Maurya of the Mahan Dal, which had fought the February-March Uttar Pradesh election as a partner of the opposition alliance, has already left the grouping.
The Janvadi Party (Socialist) of Sanjay Chauhan has also left the SP-led coalition.
Besides, Shivpal Yadav and Rajbhar, who heads the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), Jansatta Dal Loktantrik chief Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and the lone Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Uma Shankar Singh, attended the chief minister's dinner at his official residence, along with NDA leaders.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, "We thank those who have come forward to support Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election and those who have not come forward, be it Akhilesh Yadav or anyone else, we appeal that they should support a tribal woman who is contesting the presidential polls for the first time."
Rajbhar, who was not invited by Yadav to the opposition leaders' meeting with Sinha, has already said he will take a call on the presidential polls on his own.
On Friday, Rajbhar had said in Mau, where his party held a meeting, that the SBSP will make public its decision on the presidential polls on July 12.
But his presence at the dinner hosted by Adityanath indicates his inclination towards the NDA nominee.
Rajbhar's party has six MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. He had fought the Uttar Pradesh polls as a partner of the SP-led opposition grouping.
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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.
