IPL fever has already gripped the city of Chennai. And, the ever-popular CSK (Chennai Super Kings) is out to do everything to woo its fans. Always darling of fans, CSK is out to strengthen its bonds with its fans. For a second successive year, Chennai Super Kings joined hands with Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) Limited (MTC) for TATA IPL 2025. Ostensibly, this tie-up is intended to improve fan convenience. Fans with tickets for Chennai Super Kings’ home matches can travel in MTC buses (non-AC) for free from three hours prior to the start of the match. The match tickets will double up as the travel tickets. “The partnership comes as a part of Chennai Super Kings’ commitment to creating a seamless and fan-friendly experience, ensuring that supporters can enjoy the match day excitement from the moment they leave their homes,” said KS Viswanathan, Managing Director, Chennai Super Kings. “We encourage fans to use public transport and enjoy Chennai Super Kings’ matches in Chepauk. With approximately 8,000 fans using the bus services from different parts of the city each game in 2024, we expect larger support from fans to use public transport.” Chennai Super Kings are set to play their first match in Chepauk on March 23 against Mumbai Indians. (By Special Arrangement With Industrial Economist)

For the first time perhaps in India, police personnel in a district have started wearing just their names and not their surnames on their uniform nameplates. This has happened in the strife-stricken Beed district of Marathwada region in Maharashtra. Superintendent of Police Navneet Kanwat implemented this measure after allegations became rampant that even the police force in the district had been operating on a caste basis. At the core of the charge is the caste-based rift between the powerful Maratha and Vanjari communities ever since influential minister Dhananjay Munde was embroiled in a serious episode which was triggered off due to the heinous murder of a sarpanch, Santosh Deshmukh, allegedly by henchmen of Munde. After tremendous pressure was exerted, he had to resign since the Mahayuti government was in the dock owing to the collapsed law and order situation in the district. As the caste related allegations became a crescendo, Kanwat decided to minimize the gravity of the situation by ordering the police personnel to just display their names and not the surnames. He himself wears the nameplate that merely says Navneet. The district became a hotbed of tension since Maratha reservation proponent Manoj Jarange, who belongs to the district, launched an agitation to press the demand, enraging the OBC community since he demanded a reservation share from the OBC quota. The repercussions of the class between the two communities reflected in the Lok Sabha elections last year as the Mahayuti lost heavily. Social engineering measures by the Mahayuti strategists turned the tables in the legislative assembly election that was swept by the saffron alliance. Navneet has been praised by non-partisan groups for this unprecedented experiment.

Women’s cricket has changed for the better in the last two decades in India and around the world. Once it came under the ambit of the national governing body — in India’s case the BCCI — the country’s infrastructure was opened to the budding talent, opportunities/exposure increased at the international level. And in the last five years, the match fee and allowances were also brought on par with the men’s team. The national team was also given an annual contract and retired cricketers a fixed monthly gratis. Three years ago, the BCCI introduced the Women’s Premier League (WPL) with five franchise teams. The question one may ask now is whether all the development programmes put in place by the BCCI have caused a significant change in the overall standard? Observers say it’s been only three seasons of WPL and that there is a definite change in all three departments of the game batting, bowling and fielding. But they feel that the State and National teams have a lot more work to do to match the high standards set by the Australian team which recently won the women’s Ashes hands down in Australia. The Tata-WPL 3 has thrown some fresh talent into the deep, but they have come up short, except for medium pacer Kshavee Gautam, who has 11 wickets to be fourth in the bowling honours list after the Eliminator match. The batting group is led by England and Mumbai Indians’ Natalie Sciver-Brunt (493 runs) and the bowling by West Indian and MI’s Haley Matthews (17 wickets).  The WPL is what the women wanted and they have got it. It’s a massive springboard to showcase talent!

The possibility of the coming together of veteran leader Sharad Pawar and his estranged nephew, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, has continued to be a topic of great interest in Maharashtra ’s politics. Though neither has given any such indication, the media does not let go of even a slightest such signal. The speculation has been revived as Ajit’s second son Jay called on the patriarch to seek the blessings of the family elder. Pawar and his wife Pratibha as well as other clan members greeted Jay and the bride-to-be, Rutuja Patil at their home. Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule released a picture of the union, making it a breaking news. The betrothal will take place in Pune on 10 April. Rutuja is the daughter of Praveen Patil, who runs a social media firm. Jay was seen actively participating in the recent parliament and assembly elections for his father’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, which was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999 and split by Ajit in 2022. Ajit’s wife Sunetra contested the Lok Sabha election, lost to Supriya and despite the defeat, was sent to the Rajya Sabha by Ajit’s party. While Ajit’s elder son Parth is active in politics, Jay is away from it and is seen only occasionally on public platforms. Ajit’s appearance at a couple of family functions where Sharad Pawar was present had led to predictions that both were coming closer but nothing has transpired thereafter. With Jay’s obeisance to grandfather, the media once again is having a field day.

On March 6, the Enforcement Directorate investigated Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji’s close circle of liquor vendors /suppliers and many in the TASMAC liquor chain network, including its head office in Egmore. For five days an ominous silence but on March 13, an avalanche hit the TN government –the 2-page report cited many clauses of the 1988 Anti-Corruption Act, some even citing TN ‘s own FIRs. Take your pick from the violations …Rs 10 to Rs 30 MRP hike per bottle, choice of amenable vendors who paid speed money, appointment and transfer of staff and the nexus between this spirited scam of top officials and the TASMAC network. In fact, a mound of corruption that enabled many a tippler to remain high but brought down the intoxication of ill-gotten wealth for TASMAC operators. The high point is the way “Bar Tenders” (pun intended) were selected and awarded, choosing amenable distilleries, choice of glass bottles that clinked even as TASMAC swept in the money. SNJ, KALS, Accord, SAIFL, Shiva Distillery are quoted in the big fraud. Devi Bottles, GLR Holdings and Crystal also came under the scanner. “We are investigating this well spun spider web of nexus of stakeholders involved in one of TN’s highest revenue earners — TASMAC. But surprisingly no mention of Senthil Balaji, the minister in charge of liquor business. There are strong rumours that Senthil Balaji may be arrested again? It may be recalled that Balaji was arrested on June 13, 2023 and released on bail on September 26, 2024.

Bengal BJP is grappling with a significant internal crisis as it faces a series of resignations, defections, and internal dissent. Once boasting 77 MLAs after the 2021 state assembly elections, the party’s strength has now dwindled to 65, with concerns looming over the loyalty of several MLAs. The BJP’s legislative strength began to shrink soon after the 2021 assembly elections. Initially reduced to 75 MLAs when two elected members, also serving as MPs, resigned as the party had failed to secure power. Since then, eight more MLAs have defected, one passed away, and another resigned after winning a parliamentary seat in 2024. Tamluk MLA Tapasi Mondal’s defection to ruling TMC was particularly alarming as she belonged to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s stronghold. In North Bengal, Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma has openly criticized the BJP’s leadership for failing to deliver on promises of special status for the Darjeeling Hills. In Nadia and North 24 Parganas, BJP MLAs in these regions, particularly those with ties to the influential Matua community, have kept the party anxious. Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, two MLAs were given parliamentary tickets to prevent them from defecting, yet both failed to win. The influence of regional leaders like Ananta Maharaj in North Bengal has complicated BJP’s internal dynamics. With the 2026 state assembly elections in sight, the BJP faces an urgent need to stabilize its ranks. The party’s ability to manage dissent, especially in politically sensitive zones like North Bengal and Matua-dominated regions, will be critical. While the TMC’s aggressive poaching strategy has played a role, the BJP’s own failure to manage internal grievances and regional dynamics has compounded its problems.

Just fresh from the resignation of a cabinet minister, and despite fissures within the ruling coalition, the Opposition in Maharashtra has failed to seize the opportunity that has presented itself before them. The resignation of Ajit Pawar aide Dhananjay Munde was not the result of any Opposition campaign but rather it was the result of inter-coalition disputes within the ruling alliance coming to the fore. Munde’s resignation was a result of a strong sustained campaign led by the BJP legislator Suresh Dhas meant to undermine the Ajit Pawar camp. The fodder for the accusation, that the irrigation department was being run on the whims of Fadnavis associate Mohit Kambhoj, was also said to be provided by intra-party elements within the BJP. That the Opposition could not even present a united picture during the traditional post-budgetary press conference was telling about the state of the Opposition in Maharashtra. Uddhav Thackeray addressed it all alone with the Congress missing in action and their senior leaders restricting themselves to issuing statements while Sharad Pawar’s NCP representative Jayant Patil stuck to the TV debates. Uddhav’s decision to go alone in the forthcoming BMC elections, seems to have particularly peeved his coalition partners. Uddhav seems to have lost patience with his alliance partners. In the case of NCP, it seems to be busy dealing with its own internal schism between Rohit Pawar and Jayant Patil that had led to the party yet to declare its leader of legislative party. While Congress seems lost in its internal factionalism with strong leaders refusing to work with the new appointee state party president Harshavardhan Sapkal. Unlike the lacklustre Opposition, the ruling allies, in contrast, are actively working against each other, unsettling the majority Devendra Fadnavis 2.0 government.  

BJP MLC Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil’s son Vijayibhav Vishwatjejsinh wed the daughter of UdaySinh Rameshrao Chikli, K Shivanshika at Akluj, Malshiras taluka in Solapur on March 8. While a lakh people attended the holy matrimony to include Maharashtra’s royalty, Rajaharshi Shahu Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Shivendra Raje, Maloji Raje Bhonsale (Kolhapur), Nagpur’s Sangram Sinh Raje Bhosale and the Mewad Rajput clan and yet, no BJP leaders showed up. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde missed the do. Maharashtra’s political history reveals 52 years old Ranjitsinh’s own wedding attended by over a lakh plus people and, even his father, former deputy CM Vijaysinh Mohite Patil’s wedding ceremony way back in 1971 witnessed one lakh people in attendance along with politicians from across the political lines. The lakh plus attendance at the three marriage ceremonies was maintained despite being familial affairs and non-political. When former DCM Vijaysinh Mohite Patil tied the knot with Nandini Devi (Mai Saheb) in 1971 criticism emanated over the sheer opulence exhibited when every well in Akluj (a water scarcity hit region) was filled with slabs of ice in every household to ensure free flow of water. Vijaysinh’s father Shankarrao Mohite Patil (Maharashtra’s founding Minister of Cooperation) simply explained, “Every family invitee to my son’s wedding has hosted me earlier and outside whose house I have washed my hands (had a meal). At my own son’s wedding ceremony, I invited each of them.” The Maharashtra minister is also famously cited for organizing free helicopter flights in his hometown for local farmers who he insisted would easily afford flights upon attaining their true potential as agriculturists.

Rohit Sharma’s bad luck with the toss continued in the ICC Champions Trophy. He lost the fifth continuous toss in the tournament — against Bangladesh, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and again in the final against New Zealand. It was also the 12th straight time the toss went against him and the 15th against India in a row. Though Sharma lost the toss, India won the matches while posting a total and chasing 264 against Australia in the semi-final. The toss makes a big difference to the fortunes of a team, in Test matches in particular. One may say Sharma has been quite unlucky at the toss, one of the most intriguing parts of a cricket match at any level. Sharma’s captaincy in one-day internationals started on November 19, 2023. In the toss-loss matches, he has won seven matches, four of them in the Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium. Other India captains who have lost consecutive tosses – six — are Mohammed Azharuddin, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly. In contrast Sharma has won 10 ODI matches in two months from October to November 2023, all during the ICC World Cup. Sharma has won only four tosses in a row; in February-July 2022. Azharuddin has won a maximum of nine tosses among India captains. Captains call at the toss and also wait for the outcome after the rival captain has called. In Sharma’s case his call went wrong on four occasions. In the final of the Champions Trophy, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner called correctly at the toss and chose to bat. The final was Sharma’s 56th match as captain.

They may have gone their separate ways. That has not stopped them from finding themselves in news pages. A quiet consolidation is happening around different constituents of the erstwhile TVS Group. Latest action is coming from Gopal Srinivasan (brother of Venu Srinivasan)-led branch of the erstwhile TVS Group. TVS Investments Private Ltd and TVS Electronics are to amalgamate, signalling a consolidation.  The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has initiated the merger process by directing the company to seek the shareholders’ approval. TVS Investments is a holding company of TVS Electronics. In March last year, three listed companies of Venu Srinivasan group — TVS Motor Company, TVS Holdings Ltd and Sundaram Clayton Ltd — had filed identical communication with the stock exchanges on an arrangement between family members — Venu Srinivasan, his wife Mallika, their son Sudarshan and daughter Lakshmi. Though it was a non-compete pact between them, it signalled succession planning.  In the middle of last month, Sundaram–Clayton announced that its board has approved a proposal to sell its aluminium die-casting business at its Hosur plant in Tamil Nadu to third-party purchasers.  Post family separation, myriad branches within the larger erstwhile TVS are charting their own business strategies. Indeed, each one is unleashing a new energy. Lots more to look out for in the coming days, it appears.