Former K'taka CM Basavaraj Bommai to make his debut in LS polls, to contest from Haveri
Bengaluru (PTI): Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is all set to make his debut in the Lok Sabha polls, almost a year after the BJP fared poorly in the assembly polls held when he was at the helm.
Currently, an MLA from Shiggaon, he was picked for the Haveri seat, as the sitting MP, Shivakumar Udasi, had earlier announced his retirement from electoral politics after the current term ends.
"Like the people from across the country, the electorate of Haveri and Gadag want to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister one more time and want to make 'Bharath' strong," Bommai said as he expressed confidence that the people of the segment will elect him with a huge margin.
The 64-year-old had stepped in as the chief minister, mainly due to the backing of B S Yediyurappa, who was asked by the BJP central leadership to step down in July 2021.
According to some political analysts, Bommai's government was not able to counter the Congress narrative to paint his administration as corrupt, a factor that helped the Mallikarjun Kharge-led outfit to win the assembly elections in May last year.
Bommai, who was elected to the assembly for the fourth time in a row, took full responsibility for the party's defeat after the poll debacle.
When he assumed charge, Bommai had in fact scripted history, becoming only the second father-son duo to have led the state on different occasions, as he started a new innings at the top.
Previously, JD(S) Supremo H D Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy have been CMs of the southern state.
Bommai's father, S R Bommai, was a Janata Parivar stalwart and had served as the 11th chief minister of Karnataka in the late 1980s.
Born on January 28, 1960 in Hubballi, Bommai is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering. He worked in Tata Motors, Pune for three years and then became an industrial entrepreneur.
Bommai is from the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community to which Yediyurappa also belongs. The community is counted as a key vote-base of the saffron party.
He started his political career with the Janata Dal, and was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council twice (in 1997 and 2003) from Dharwad local authorities constituency. He had also served as Political Secretary to former Chief Minister J H Patel and as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the council.
Bommai quit Janata Dal (United) and joined the BJP in February 2008 and in the assembly elections held later that year, was elected as MLA from Shiggaon constituency in Haveri. He then went on to retain the seat in the 2013, 2018 and 2023 assembly polls.
Married to Chennamma, he has a son and a daughter.
VIDEO | Lok Sabha Elections 2024: “There is no need for much preparation because I represented these districts- both Haveri and Gadag which come under this Lok Sabha, as an MLC from local bodies for 12 years,” says former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai (@BSBommai) on BJP giving… pic.twitter.com/73EtV7wiAI
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 14, 2024
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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.
