Twenty20 to field candidates in all seats in Kochi Corpn., four municipalities in Ernakulam

Twenty20, the political outfit backed by corporate major Kitex Group, will field candidates in 60 local bodies, including the Kochi Corporation, across seven districts in the upcoming local body elections.

In addition to the Kochi Corporation, the outfit will contest all seats in four municipalities—Thripunithura, Thrikkakara, Maradu, and Aluva/Piravom—in Ernakulam district. It will also field candidates in 55 panchayats across Ernakulam, Kollam, Palakkad, Thrissur, Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts.

“We will release two lists of candidates for all 76 divisions in the Kochi Corporation this week. Individuals with credible reputations, including retired professionals, will be fielded. Despite the United Democratic Front [UDF] and the Left Democratic Front [LDF] alternating in power, the perennial issues of the Corporation, such as drinking water, waste management, waterlogging, mosquito control, and road and transport infrastructure, remain unresolved. We promise to address these problems and transform Kochi into a city that rivals other south Indian cities,” Sabu M. Jacob, chief coordinator of Twenty20, told The Hindu on Monday.

“The decision to contest in the four municipalities adjoining the Kochi Corporation is aimed at ensuring the city’s development trajectory extends beyond the Corporation’s limits. Kochi, being the commercial hub of the region, also has one of the most corrupt Corporations in the State, where issues like drinking water and waste management are allowed to fester, allegedly to facilitate corruption,” Mr. Jacob claimed.

Twenty20 made its electoral debut in 2015 by contesting 19 wards in the Kizhakkambalam panchayat and winning 17 of them. Five years later, it expanded its influence beyond its base in Kizhakkambalam—where the Kitex Group is headquartered—by securing power in three neighbouring panchayats: Aikkaranadu, Kunnathunadu, and Mazhuvannur.

The party also contested and won two divisions in the Ernakulam district panchayat—Vengola and Kolencherry. This time, it may contest five to six divisions.

In the interim, Twenty20 entered into a brief alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which eventually fell apart. The party had even hosted AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal at Kizhakkambalam in 2022. “We could not co-exist ideologically, as that party adopted positions favourable to the CPI(M) on several issues in the State,” said Mr. Jacob, who has had a running feud with the Marxist party, particularly its Kunnathunadu MLA P.V. Sreenijin.