Bommai, Union Ministers Joshi and Khuba file nominations
Bengaluru (PTI): Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, BJP leader Pralhad Joshi and actor Shivarajkumar's wife Geetha Shivarajkumar were among the prominent persons who filed their nominations on Monday for the May 7 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka.
Bommai filed his papers as the BJP candidate from Haveri and was accompanied by former Minister B C Patil and other party leaders.
He earlier paid respects to his parents' memorial. Bommai is the son of veteran Janata Party leader and former Chief Minister late S R Bommai.
Bommai's opponent from Congress, Anandswamy Gaddadevarmath, too filed his papers on Monday.
Joshi who is the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, formally entered the fray from Dharwad. Veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar were among the leaders who were with him.
Prior to filing his nomination, Joshi held a road show accompanied by the leaders.
Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers and New and Renewable Energy Bhagwanth Khuba filed his nomination papers from Bidar.
Geetha Shivarajkumar, who is also the daughter of former Chief Minister late S Bangarappa and daughter-in-law of Kannada thespian late Rajkumar filed her nomination as Congress candidate from Shimoga.
She was accompanied by Shivarajkumar, her brother and state's School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, and several party leaders. They also held a road show, in which Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar participated.
Mrinal Hebbalkar, son of Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Minister of Women and Child Development in the state, also filed his nomination as the Congress candidate from the Belgaum Lok Sabha segment. He too was accompanied by Shivakumar and party leader Laxman Savadi among others. His road show earlier in the day featured his mother, senior minister Satish Jarkiholi and other leaders.
Among other candidates who filed their papers were BJP MP Annasaheb Shankar Jolle, who is seeking re-election from Chikkodi and the party's MP G M Siddeshwara's wife Gayathri Siddeshwara from Davangere.
As many as 14 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats will be going to polls in the second phase for which April 19 is the last day for filing nominations. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 20 and April 22 is the last day for withdrawal of papers.
In the first phase, 14 Lok Sabha constituencies are going to polls on April 26.
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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.
