Confident of resolving KS Eshwarappa revolt issue, says state BJP chief BY Vijayendra
Shivamogga, Mar 18: Amid a banner of revolt raised by senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa, the party's Karnataka President B Y Vijayendra on Monday expressed confidence about the issue getting resolved, and said it was natural for aspirants to get upset on not getting the ticket to contest elections.
Acknowledging Eshwarappa's contribution in building and strengthening the BJP in Karnataka, he said the candidates for Lok Sabha polls were decided by the national leadership of the party, and it was not his decision.
Eshwarappa has announced he will contest as an independent candidate from Shimoga seat in the coming Lok Sabha polls, blaming Vijayendra and his father and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa for his son K E Kantesh being denied a party ticket from Haveri constituency. Former CM Basavaraj Bommai has got BJP's Haveri ticket.
Yediyurappa's son and sitting MP B Y Raghavendra is the BJP candidate from Shimoga. Eshwarappa, who is firm on contesting despite efforts by the party leaders to pacify him, has even decided to skip Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Shivamogga on Monday.
ALSO READ: KS Eshwarappa Stands Firm, Declares Independent Candidacy from Shimoga
"Eshwarappa is a senior leader, at appropriate time, we will get answers to certain questions. I can just say at this moment that selection of candidates to any of the constituencies is not just decided by me as the state president and it is not possible, as ours is a national party. There is no question of our party deciding on candidates, just by listening to me, time will give answer to everything," Vijayendra said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the candidates are chosen by the national leadership, and it is their decision.
Asked about Eshwarapppa's contest, he expressed confidence that everything will be resolved. "I have information that a lot of misinformation might have fallen on his (Eshwarappa) ears."
Stating that his brother Raghavendra has done good work as an MP, Vijayendra expressed confidence about his victory with a big margin.
Vijayendra was not appointed as the state President by Yediyurappa, he said, adding, the appointment was made by the party leadership; national President J P Nadda has already answered this question and there is no need to raise this issue again and again.
Eshwarappa has alleged that the BJP in Karnataka is in the clutches of Yediyurappa, and has claimed that his fight was to "save the party" in the state on behalf of "hurt party workers".
Commenting on Eshwarappa's statement that several Hindutva leaders were being neglected by Yediyurappa and Vijayendra, the state BJP chief said, there are several Hindutva leaders in the BJP, and the party has the strength to take everything along. " We will do it."
None of these issues will influence the Lok Sabha elections, and by winning the maximum number of seats, the state unit will strengthen the hands of Narendra Modi, he said. "All leaders will work unitedly. I too did not get a ticket from Varuna in the past (ahead of 2018 Assembly polls). I abided by the leadership's decision...it is natural that aspirants will get upset when they don't get a ticket."
He said Eshwarappa is a leader who has built the party and strengthened it, and everything will be fine.
To a question about reports that JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy is upset over seat sharing, Vijayendra said he was not aware about the seat sharing talks in Delhi.
"Our leadership is constantly in touch with Kumaraswamy and everything will be resolved easily," he said.
Meanwhile, Eshwarappa who is visiting various maths today said he has got blessings from the pontiffs of maths of various communities, for the step that he has taken towards "protecting Dharma."
"It has strengthened me.....with their (swamijis') blessings and the blessings of the people I will be victorious in the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency and I will support Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister," he said.
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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.
