Twenty20 ends political isolation, joins NDA ahead of assembly polls

Kochi: The decade-long era of the Kitex Group-backed Twenty20 party fighting Kerala's bipolar politics as an isolated corporate entity has officially ended. In a definitive move that alters the political equations in Central Kerala ahead of the Assembly Elections, party president Sabu M Jacob announced on Wednesday that Twenty20 is joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The formal entry will take place tomorrow in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Thiruvananthapuram, marking a sharp pivot from the party's long-standing claim of maintaining equidistance from mainstream political fronts.

The announcement came at a joint press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, convened by Sabu M Jacob and BJP State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar. "This is a decisive decision in my life and for the Twenty20 party. I have taken the decision to join NDA after much thought," Jacob said, flanked by the BJP leadership.

"We realised that standing alone, it is difficult to achieve the goal of changing Kerala. We have decided to join the NDA to realise a 'Developed Kerala' alongside the Modi government," Jacob added. 

The development represents a significant U-turn. Sabu M Jacob, who has historically insisted he would "never join any political party", has now embraced a clear political alignment.

Just last week, Jacob had signalled this shift, telling Onmanorama that "90 per cent of party members" favoured ending their isolation. The trigger for this pragmatic shift appears to be the existential threat faced by the party during the December 2025 local body polls.

Speaking to the media, Jacob cited the "hostile unity" of rival fronts as a primary catalyst. "In the local body elections, the LDF and UDF, comprising over 25 political parties, formed a 'People's Front' specifically to defeat us. This historic unity, where LDF and UDF candidates abandoned their symbols to fight us, made us rethink. We alone cannot achieve the vision of a developed Kerala, and aligning with the NDA is the best option to achieve it. We need to show them how we can change Kerala by joining the NDA. Moreover, we need to take revenge on those who tried to eliminate us," Jacob added.

The 'development' pitch
The alliance is being framed not just as a political necessity, but as a convergence of developmental visions. Rajeev Chandrasekhar welcomed the alliance by highlighting Sabu's track record as an industrialist, turning the spotlight onto the LDF government's industrial policies.

"Sabu is a job creator who was forced out of this state to Telangana, where he created 20,000 jobs. It is the need of the NDA that his track record continues here," Chandrasekhar said, projecting the alliance's slogan of 'Developed Kerala'.

Earlier, speaking to Onmanorama, Jacob had revealed his "Plan B" of contesting solo in 50 seats, if alliance talks failed. With that 'Plan B' now shelved, Twenty20 will likely bargain for a significant share of seats in Ernakulam, Idukki, and Kottayam, setting the stage for a fiercely contested three-way battle in the upcoming elections.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, Twenty20 contested eight seats in Ernakulam district and secured a vote share of 15.3 per cent. For over a decade, politics in Kunnathunad and Kizhakkambalam have been marked by intense rivalry between Twenty20 workers and cadres of the CPM and the Congress. In the recent local body polls, LDF and UDF workers largely acted in tandem to defeat Twenty20 candidates.