Dummy candidates with same names as real ones fielded to confuse voters; Reports
Bengaluru: As elections near in Karnataka, a concerning development has emerged., with dummy candidates with the same names as real candidates being fielded in a bid to confuse voters. A total of 389 candidates are in the running for 28 assembly constituencies in Bengaluru, but most of them are not real contestants, according to a report by deccanherald.com.
Yelahanka has the highest number of candidates, with 20 in the fray, while Shantinagar and CV Raman Nagar constituencies have 10 candidates each.
Among those in the running in Yelahanka, four candidates share the name "munegowda," including a candidate from JD(S). Similarly, two candidates named "Vishwanath '' are contesting, including BJP's SR Vishwanath. Political parties are said to field candidates of the same name to create confusion among voters.
In Rajajinagar and Byatarayanapura, 18 and 17 candidates are respectively in the fray. In Rajajinagar, the Congress candidate is named Puttanna, but another candidate with the same name is also in the running. In Byatarayanapura, candidates from unknown political parties are contesting, except for Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
Congress candidate Soumya Reddy is also facing a challenge from an independent candidate with the same name in Jayanagar. In Vijayanagar, three other candidates share a name with the BJP candidate, while four others named Sridhar are contesting against the BJP's K R Sridhar in BTM Layout.
On average, there are 12 to 14 candidates in each constituency, and independents have been fielded in many places to ensure that the votes of the strongest candidates are distributed, according to the report.
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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.
