Senior BJP leader Eshwarappa skips PM Modi's rally, in embarrassment to party ahead of LS polls
Shivamogga (Karnataka), Mar 18: Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa, who has raised a banner of revolt over denial of ticket to his son to contest the coming Lok Sabha elections from Haveri, on Monday skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally here, in an embarrassment to the party.
The 75-year-old former Deputy Chief Minister, who has turned down the invitation to attend the event, was seen visiting maths of various communities.
Eshwarappa has announced he will contest as an independent candidate from Shimoga (Shivamogga) in the coming Lok Sabha polls, blaming veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa and his son B Y Vijayendra, who is state BJP President, for his son K E Kantesh being denied ticket.
Yediyurappa's son and sitting MP B Y Raghavendra is the BJP candidate from Shimoga, and Eshwarappa is firm on contesting against him despite efforts by the party leaders to pacify him.
Eshwarappa, a former BJP state president, Yediyurappa and former Union Minister late H N Ananth Kumar were widely credited with building the party from the grassroots in Karnataka. Yediyurapa and Eshwarappa hail from Shivamogga district.
Eshwarappa has alleged that Yediyurappa, who is a member of the Parliamentary Board, had promised Kantesh the ticket to contest from Havari but betrayed him.
Yediyurappa has denied the charge, saying candidates are finalised by the party's central election committee and he had no role in it.
BJP leaders, including party national general secretary and State poll in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, met Eshwarappa to persuade him to change his decision but he stood his ground.
Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has got BJP's Haveri ticket.
Eshwarappa has alleged that the BJP in Karnataka is in the clutches of the Yediyurappa family, and has claimed that his fight was to "save the party and its ideology" in the state on behalf of "hurt party workers", and to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister once again.
He has also said that several Hindutva leaders were being neglected by Yediyurappa and Vijayendra.
Speaking to reporters, Vijayendra expressed confidence about the Eshwarappa revolt issue getting resolved, and said it was natural for aspirants to get upset on not getting the ticket to contest elections.
Acknowledging Eshwarappa's contribution in building and strengthening the BJP in Karnataka, he said the candidates for Lok Sabha polls were decided by the party's national leadership, and it was not his decision.
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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.
