Kochi,16 Jan (H.S.):After a decade of positioning itself as a lone, corporate-backed political force, the Kitex Group–supported Twenty20 party has signalled a decisive shift in strategy ahead of the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections. Breaking away from its long-standing “go-it-alone” approach, the party has announced that it is open to forging an alliance with any of the state’s three major political fronts — the LDF, UDF or the NDA. However, it has also drawn up a clear fallback plan: contesting independently in 50 constituencies if talks fail.
Party president and coordinator Sabu M. Jacob confirmed that Twenty20 is already engaged in active discussions with all three fronts. “We are planning to change our previous stand of contesting alone. Nearly 90% of our party members believe we should align with a front,” Jacob said, underlining a major recalibration in the party’s political approach.
The shift follows a sobering assessment of the party’s performance in the December 2025 local body elections. While Twenty20 continues to command influence in pockets of eastern Ernakulam, the polls exposed the limitations of fighting in isolation. In key strongholds such as Kizhakkambalam, Mazhuvannur and Kunnathunad, rival fronts tactically set aside differences to defeat Twenty20 candidates. The party subsequently lost control of the Kunnathunad and Mazhuvannur panchayats and suffered a complete rout in its Kochi Corporation bid.
Acknowledging these realities, Jacob said that expanding the party’s footprint in Assembly elections requires coalition backing. “Politics has no fixed principles. Every front is doing everything possible to win. If any front is ready to meet our demands, we will support them,” he said.
If alliance negotiations collapse, Twenty20 plans to independently contest 50 of the state’s 140 Assembly constituencies, concentrating on five central Kerala districts — Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur.
Jacob said the party intends to contest all 14 seats in Ernakulam and most seats in the other four districts, with select forays into Kollam and Palakkad.
The strategy banks on the party’s localised strength. In the 2021 Assembly polls, Twenty20 contested eight seats in Ernakulam and secured a 15.3% vote share.
Despite setbacks in 2025, it maintained an average 12% vote share across 880 local body seats and retained power in four panchayats, including Kizhakkambalam and Aikkaranadu.
As Kerala’s political temperature rises ahead of 2026, Twenty20 is positioning itself as a pragmatic player — whether as a valuable ally or a focused independent force. Whether the traditional fronts can absorb a former rival at the grassroots level now remains the central question.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman
