Twenty20 to contest LS polls
The Keralabased kids apparel maker major, Kitex Group — which delved into politics about a decade ago and proved its mettle by successfully contesting the panchayat polls — is now setting the bar high by trying its luck in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Though its political arm Twenty20 drew a blank in the Assembly elections in 2021, the increased voting share of 15 per cent has encouraged it to contest in two parliamentary constituencies, Ernakulam and Chalakudy, in Thrissur district.
“If Twenty20 candidates are given a chance in Parliament, we will show people how a member can fight for the parent State’s cause. Besides, we will give people the power to recall the representative if he or she fails in fulfilling the promises made in the election manifesto,” says Sabu M Jacob, State president of Twenty20. He claimed the party has registered a 50 per cent higher voting percentage in the last polls.
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Twenty20 was apolitical when it was formed in 2012 as Kizhakkambalam Charitable Organisation with the aim of ensuring a sustainable growth for the State. When it started working on resolving various issues in the panchayat, it did not go down well with the political outfits cutting across party affiliations. This forced the party to contest panchayat elections in 2015, where it won 17 wards out of 19 and gained a vote share of 72 per cent. This did have an impact on Kitex’s business. Two years ago, complaining of harassment by the state government, Jacob shifted his ₹3,000 crore expansion project to Telangana.
Jacob observes that lack of a better option led people to vote for LDF or UDF, which failed rise to their expectations. He believes that Twenty20 can be the third option as a political party whose sole motto is welfare and development by offering a corruptfree government.
“When we took over in 2015, the debt of Kizhakkambalam panchayat was ₹39 lakh and at the end of the tenure in 2020, after carrying out all infrastructure developments like road construction, building houses, drinking water supply, the panchayat had managed to deposit ₹13.75 crore as FD in banks,” he said.