Twenty20 used as a recruitment agency for BJP, alleges former member

Twenty20 was used as an agency to recruit people into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleged Raseena Pareeth, Twenty20 member and former president of the Vadavucode block panchayat.

She was addressing a press conference alongside Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president V.P. Sajeendran at Kolancherry on Friday (January 23, 2026). Ms. Pareeth led a group of Twenty20 members who announced their decision to quit the party and join the Congress in protest against the move to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Ms. Pareeth alleged that a survey conducted by Twenty20 few months back, under the guise of issuing loyalty cards that offered benefits beyond those provided by the food security market, was actually a ploy to recruit people to the BJP. The survey form included columns for caste and religion. “What is the need for these details in providing benefits to the people?” she asked.

She said that while there had been indications of a possible tie-up with the BJP in the past, there was no concrete evidence. “The decision to join the NDA was taken unilaterally by a few individuals, without consulting elected representatives or ward committees of the party. We only came to know about it through television channels,” she added.

“All along, it was said that the party would neither join the right nor the left, but would dissolve if forced into such a situation. There will be mass resignations and an exodus from the party, including elected representatives, in the coming days,” Ms. Pareeth warned.

Mr. Sajeendran described the decision to join the NDA as the “end game” of Sabu M. Jacob, who, he said, would be driven away by voters when he approaches them with food kits ahead of the next Assembly election. “Consultations were held with the BJP’s national leadership even before the local body polls, betraying the faith of voters. The BJP is using Twenty20 as a shortcut to breach the Kunnathunadu Assembly constituency, where there is a large concentration of minorities and Scheduled Castes. After setbacks in the local body polls, Mr. Jacob realised he no longer had the strength to remain independent,” he said.

Meanwhile, Twenty20 vice-president V. Gopakumar dismissed the resignations from the party of little impact claiming that all mandalam presidents and State committee members of the party stood steadfast with the leadership’s decision to join the NDA.

In a separate press conference, CPI(M) district secretariat member K.S. Arunkumar and Kolancherry area committee secretary K.K. Elias claimed that disgruntled Twenty20 members would flock to their party in large numbers. They accused Mr. Jacob of deceiving voters and demanded an apology.