JDS MLC says Congress will win MLC seat in South, expresses resentment with JD(s) leadership
Mysuru, Jun 13: After a setback in the recent Rajya Sabha polls, which saw at least one of its MLAs voting against party candidate, JD(S) on Monday faced another round of dissidence with its MLC requesting voters to back a Congress nominee in the election to Legislative Council from the South Graduates' constituency.
Voting is underway in the biennial election to the Karnataka Legislative Council from two graduates' and an equal number of teachers' constituencies on Monday.
"Voters of all the four districts that come under the constituency (South Graduates') are voting in large numbers in support of Madhu G Madegowda (Congress candidate). Madhu G Madegowda will win this election with a huge margin. His win is 100 per cent certain," JD(S) MLC Marithibbe Gowda said.
Speaking to reporters here, he appealed to voters to vote in favour of Madegowda to ensure his victory.
He, however, did not wish to comment regarding his disgruntlement against JD(S) and its leadership, stating today was a poll day.
In the polls for South Graduates' constituency, Madegowda of Congress is pitted against former MLC M V Ravishankar of the BJP and H K Ramu of JD(S).
Recently, hitting out at the JD(S), Marithibbe Gowda expressed disappointment at the "attitude" of JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and Legislature Party leader H D Kumaraswamy over the last four years.
He had alleged that the party denied a ticket to one Jayaramu for the election to the Legislative Council from the South Graduates' constituency as he did not have money.
Marithibbe Gowda, who was the Deputy Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council from 2015 to 2018, is currently MLC from South Teachers' constituency.
During the Rajya Sabha polls held on June 10, despite efforts by JD(S) to keep its numbers intact, the regional party's Kolar MLA K Srinivas Gowda cast his vote for the Congress candidate defying the party's diktat, while Gubbi MLA S R Srinivas allegedly put a blank ballot paper into the box, which left JD(S) legislature party leader H D Kumaraswamy fuming at his colleagues.
While Gowda accepted he voted for the Congress candidate stating that he did so since he "loved" the party, Srinivas, however, rejected Kumaraswamy's claim and insisted he voted for his party's pick. There were also reports that Srinivas had voted in favour of BJP's Lehar Singh Siroya, when votes were counted.
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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.
