LS Polls: Discontent brews in Karnataka BJP after announcement of first list
Bengaluru, Mar 14: A day after the BJP announced its first list of candidates for 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka for the upcoming Parliament elections, discontent has started brewing among the ticket aspirants who were denied a ticket.
Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who was expecting a ticket from Haveri or Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency, said he will arrive at a decision on Thursday evening.
According to him, he is still in talks with the seniors in the BJP regarding the Belgaum seat.
Shettar had returned to the BJP in January after quitting the Congress, which gave him a ticket for the 2023 assembly polls.
Though he had lost that election, Congress nominated him as a Member of the Legislative Council.
Incidentally Shettar had quit the BJP before the elections as he had been denied a ticket.
ALSO READ: Decision of high command final and abiding: Jagadish Shettar on LS ticket from BJP
Shettar's supporters claim that he was offered a Lok Sabha ticket in the 2024 elections by the BJP.
When asked whether he was made a scapegoat as his name did not figure in the first list of candidates, Shettar said, "Don't put words in my mouth. Everyone knows what's going on. Hence, I am not going to comment on it. People will say and those who should say will speak up."
Reacting to it, Union Minister for Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi said, "Shettar has said that his name is there for Belagavi constituency. I too know this. I will be happy if he gets the ticket from Belagavi or any other place because he is our very senior leader."
Another BJP leader left disappointed after the first list was former Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa. He was aspiring for a ticket for his son K E Kantesh.
Eshwarappa accused the former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who is in the BJP's apex body parliamentary board member, of chucking out his son from the Lok Sabha election.
"There is a pressure on me to contest the election independently," Eshwarappa told reporters in Shivamogga, yesterday.
Sitting BJP MP and former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who has been denied a ticket from Bengaluru North constituency, on Thursday called on Eshwarappa.
"He is deeply pained. I got to know that he is convening a meeting tomorrow in Shivamogga. Hence, I came to meet him," Gowda told reporters after meeting Eshwarappa.
Sadananda Gowda too is said to be sulking as the BJP has replaced him with Union Minister of State for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje from Bengaluru North.
Karandlaje on Thursday called on Gowda and sought his blessings to win the Lok Sabha election.
Meanwhile Yediyurappa said Eshwarappa's son will be made a member in the Legislative Council.
Supporters of sitting BJP MP from Koppal, Karadi Sanganna, went on a rampage after he was denied a ticket.
The group blocked the entry of Dr Basavaraj Kuavator, the party's candidate from Koppal, when he came to meet Sanganna at his residence.
Sanganna's supporters also went on a rampage and vandalised the BJP office in Koppal, breaking the window panes and furniture.
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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.
