With Twenty20 in its kitty, BJP eyes Central Kerala breakthrough

It is the season of political alignments and realignments in Kerala. Twenty20, the corporate-backed political entity that made its presence felt in Kerala’s bipolar polity, has joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) bandwagon. The political startup chose to end its isolated existence after an underwhelming performance in the local body polls last month.

The development, coming just a couple of months ahead of the Assembly elections, marks a major breakthrough for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Central Kerala, where it has lagged behind since its inception. While there is more to poll arithmetic than just numbers, Twenty20’s addition to the front definitely marks a way forward for the BJP in Ernakulam district.

As for Twenty20, the partnership opens up new opportunities, with its promoter Sabu M Jacob contesting on an NDA ticket from Perumbavoor in the forthcoming elections a distinct possibility.

Twenty20’s genesis

Twenty20’s initial foray into electoral politics in 2015, as a regional collective limited to the Kizhakkambalam Panchayat, was the result of a stand-off with the Congress-ruled local body over pollution and thetreatment of effluents.

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Sabu M Jacob, promoter of Kitex Garments, pioneered the concept of panchayat governance, which thrives on channelling its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to bankroll development initiatives. With his brainchild supermarket, which sold groceries well below market price, Jacob scaled his business model into neighbouring panchayats.

Advances in 2020-2021

Twenty20 had an impressive outing in the 2020 local body polls, wresting three more panchayats - Kunnathunad, Aikkaranad, and Mazhuvannur - in the Kunnathunad assembly segment.

The party’s assembly poll debut dictated the outcomes in six constituencies in 2021, polling more than the winning margin in Kunnathunad, Perumbavoor, Kochi, Vypeen, Kothamangalam, and Muvattupuzha. It also polled more than the BJP in each of these constituencies. In Kunnathunad, the contest became triangular - with the Left edging out the Congress for a narrow win. The addition of BJP votes to its tally would have meant Twenty20 polling more than the Congress in the constituency in 2021.

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Today, Twenty20 has extended its influence to all the panchayats in the Kunnathunad assembly (Scheduled Caste reserved) constituency, and to the rest of the Taluk, encompassing Perumbavoor constituency.

In a strange turn of events, the Congress and the Left ditched their eternal rivalry to pitch joint candidates as independents in Kizhakkambalam panchayat in 2025 to outwit Jacob, still coming up short.

Plateauing in 2025

With the fortunes of the Congress on an upswing, Twenty20 struggled to scale up its model to the district level in the 2025 local body polls, faring abysmally in the Ernakulam Municipal Corporation.

Nevertheless, the party did hold on to its base in Kizhakkambalam and Aikkaranand panchayats, although it lost power in Kunnathunad and Mazhuvannoor. Still, Twenty20 rules four panchayats as in the previous election cycle, with the draw of lots helping it secure wins in Poothrikka and Thiruvaniyoor panchayats - in a district where the corresponding figure for the Left is seven.

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Twenty20 lost the two divisions it won in the district panchayat in 2020 and fared poorly beyond the Kunnathunad Taluk in 2025.

Risky alliance call

The political outfit has drawn its legitimacy from campaigning against established parties on an anti-corruption plank, and brand recall for the Kitex group and its founder - the late MC Jacob - along with his reputation as a philanthropist. However, it remains to be seen how the by-and-large secular voters of the party (with the Jacobite Syrian Christians as its base) react to the electoral dalliance with the BJP at the hustings.

This isn’t Twenty20’s maiden experiment of allying with a national party, after floating the short-lived People’s Welfare Alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2022. The sorry state of the Kerala unit of the AAP rendered the partnership meaningless with Jacob setting his sights on bigger goals.

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The BJP alliance is a shot in the arm for Twenty20’s short-term prospects, while the jury is still out on how it will evolve in the long term. With its USP of an alternate brand of politics foregone, the symbiotic relationship might eventually benefit the BJP, going by the saffron party’s track record of cannibalising vote banks of allies.

Win-win for BJP

The BJP has long struggled to crack the winning code in Ernakulam district.

While the party has improved its prospects massively in Kozhikode and Kollam corporations in the 2025 local body polls, winning 13 and 12 wards respectively (up from 6 each), it has more or less remained stagnant in Ernakulam, winning six wards against five in 2020. Beyond its traditional pockets of influence in city wards with Konkani voters, the BJP has fared poorly in the city. It experimented with the candidature of KJ Alphons in 2016, only to lose its deposit.

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The BJP has failed to win a single panchayat in Ernakulam district. The lone bright spot for the party was its stunning win in the Thrippunithura municipality, even if replicating it in an Assembly contest would be a tough proposition with the vast constituency spanning from Palluruthy in the west to Udayamperoor in the east. And that is where Twenty20 can chip in.

Christian outreach mission

The alliance with Twenty20 can also help with the saffron party’s spasmodic Christian outreach. The BJP fielded 1,926 Christian candidates across the state in the local body polls, but only 25 of those went on to win. The policy decision to nominate so many Christians was taken at the state level - with Rajeev Chandrasekhar keen to tap into the community - even if the party found it hard to zero in on candidates at the local level.

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The partnership with Twenty20 is also a step in that direction. The alliance might be a punt by two ambitious industrialists for now. How the two parties synergise to maximise their potential will be tested in the forthcoming Assembly polls.