Karnataka: Power play for CM post shifts to Delhi, all eyes on Congress top brass
New Delhi/Bengaluru (PTI): All eyes are now riveted on the Congress' central leadership that will pick the new Karnataka chief minister, a decision preceded by intensive consultations, one-on-one interaction with MLAs and even a 'secret ballot'.
After the Congress party's stupendous victory in the May 10 assembly polls, intense lobbying for the chief minister's post in Karnataka started for former chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar.
The party faces the uphill task of satisfying the two camps and is working on a 'formula'.
Both the top Karnataka leaders have been called to Delhi by the party high command for further consultations on government formation in the state. While Siddaramaiah has left Bengaluru and will be in the national capital by Monday evening, Shivakumar is likely to follow him later in the night.
The three central observers deputed by the Congress returned to the national capital on Monday after speaking individually to the newly elected MLAs.
The observers are putting together the views expressed by all the newly elected MLAs and will hand over the report to party president Mallikarjun Kharge by late Monday night, sources told PTI.
Senior party leader B K Hariprasad said the MLAs were asked for their open feedback on their choice of chief minister during their interaction with the observers and also a secret ballot was held for the CM's name. The observers have brought the ballot boxes to Delhi along with them.
Kharge is likely to take a decision on who will be the next chief minister of Karnataka soon. He is also likely to hold consultations with top Congress leadership, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, before arriving at a decision.
Meanwhile, the party is also gearing up for preparations for making the swearing-in ceremony of the chief minister a big show of strength, where several opposition leaders will be invited.
Supporters of both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had raised slogans projecting them as the next chief minister outside the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party on Sunday evening.
The CLP had passed a resolution authorising the party chief to pick the chief minister.
A poster war by supporters of both leaders also erupted soon after the party won the election.
Kharge had appointed former Maharashtra chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde, party general secretary Jitendra Singh and former AICC general secretary Deepak Babaria as observers for the election of the CLP Leader of Karnataka.
The three leaders along with AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala arrived in Delhi from Bengaluru and will meet Kharge later in the evening.
The observers spoke individually to all the newly elected MLAs after dinner at a private hotel on Sunday night and completed the process late at night.
While Siddaramaiah is a leader with mass appeal, is popular among all sections and has the experience of running a government of full five-year term from 2013-18, Shivakumar has strong organisational capabilities, is considered resourceful and Congress' troubleshooter during tough times and has the backing of the dominant Vokkaliga community, its influential seers and leaders.
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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.
