PM Modi to kickstart BJP LS poll campaign from Cong President Kharge's home turf in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kickstart the BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Karnataka by addressing a public meeting in Kalaburagi on March 16, the party's state general secretary V Sunil Kumar said on Wednesday.
Kalaburagi is the home district of AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from there in 2009 and 2014 but lost to BJP's Umesh Jadhav in the last general elections.
The Congress is likely to field the 81-year-old Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani this time, according to party sources.
Modi will also address a public gathering in Shivamogga on March 18, Sunil Kumar told reporters at the BJP state headquarters here. "The public meeting will be held at NV Playground on March 16 at Kalaburagi. The event in Shivamogga will take place at Allamaprabhu Ground on March 18."
Karnataka is the most important State for the BJP in south India as it's only here that it had held power in the past.
The BJP swept the previous Lok Sabha elections bagging 25 seats out of the total 28 in the State, while an independent backed by the party also won.
The Congress and the JD(S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, who were running a coalition government back then and fought the elections together, came a cropper winning a seat each.
But the political landscape has changed significantly since then. The Congress scored a landslide victory in the May Assembly polls, winning 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly. The BJP and JD(S) slumped to 66 and 19 seats, respectively.
The JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA last September and the two parties are fighting the elections together.
Sunil Kumar said BJP president J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath along with other national leaders will visit different Lok Sabha constituencies and address public gatherings in the coming weeks.
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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.
