BJP, Congress win 2 seats each in Karnataka MLC elections
Bengaluru, Jun 16: The ruling BJP continues to have a majority in the Karnataka Legislative Council, as the party managed to win one teachers' and graduates' constituency each in the recently held biennial elections, while the Congress too managed to win one each.
The results are seen as a setback for the JD(S) as the party lost both the seats it represented last time and did not win any fresh seat; while for Congress it is a two seats gain, as none of the four seats that went to polls were held by the party before going for polls.
Though the ruling BJP has managed to win two of the four seats that went for poll and maintain its majority in the upper house of the state legislature, the party faced a setback with the defeat of its MLC Arun Shahapur, who was seeking re-election from one of the teachers' constituencies.
While the results for both the teachers' constituencies were announced on Wednesday night, two graduates' seats' poll results were announced on Thursday after the conclusion of the counting process.
North-West Graduates', South Graduates', North-West Teachers', and West Teachers' constituencies went for polls on Monday, witnessing an overall voter turnout of 71.01 per cent.
The elections to the four seats were necessitated as the term of BJP's Nirani Hanamant Rudrappa (N-W Graduates') and JD(S)' K T Srikante Gowda (S-Graduates'), BJP's Arun Shahpur (N-W Teachers') and JD(S)' Basavaraj Horatti (W-Teachers') are coming to an end on July 4.
With the outcome of poll results, the 75-member Legislative Council will have 39 BJP members, 27 Congress and eight JD(S), and one independent member.
Of the two seats for which results were declared today, the North-West Graduates' seat witnessed a direct fight between BJP and Congress, with JD(S) not in the fray.
BJP's Nirani Hanamant Rudrappa, who was seeking reelection, has won the N-W graduates' seat by securing 44,815 votes, while his opponent Congress' Sunil Annappa Sank obtained 10,122 votes.
In the South Graduates' constituency, Congress' Madhu G Madegowda won by securing 46,082 votes against former MLC M V Ravishankar of the BJP, who got 33,878. H K Ramu of JD(S) has got 19,630 votes.
On Wednesday, Basavaraj Horatti, who was Chairman of the Legislative Council until recently and had resigned from the post to join the BJP ahead of polls, was declared victorious from West Teachers' constituency as a candidate of J P Nadda-led outfit. He had secured 9,266 votes.
His nearest rival Basavaraj Gurikar of Congress got 4,597 votes, while Shrishail Gadadinni of JD(S) secured just 273 votes.
Horatti, who recently ended his long association with the JD(S) by joining BJP, created a history of sorts in the country, with this result, by getting elected to the Upper House of the legislature for a record eighth term. He has been an MLC since 1980.
Considered to be among the senior-most MLCs, the 76-year old is seen as a prominent Lingayat face from north Karnataka. He had been education minister in the state, and was elected as the Chairman of the Legislative Council in February 2021.
In the North-West Teachers' constituency, Arun Shahpur of BJP, who was seeking re-election was defeated by Congress' former MLA and MP Prakash Hukkeri. They secured 6,405 and 11,460 votes respectively, while Chandrashekhar Esappa Loni of JD(S) secured 544 votes.
South Graduates' constituency, Congress' Madhu G Madegowda won by securing 46,082 votes
West Teachers' constituency, BJP's Basavaraj Horatti won by securing 9,266 votes
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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.
