Twenty20 party in Kerala joins NDA

Twenty20, a corporate-backed outlier in Kerala’s conventional coalition politics, has thrown in its lot with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the Assembly elections. 

BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar welcomed the party’s State president, Sabu M. Jacob, into the alliance at a joint press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday (January 22, 2026). 

Mr. Jacob said Twenty20 “has eschewed its decade-old founding concept” of giving a wide berth to coalition politics after the party faced an almost existential electoral threat from “an unlikely cabal” of LDF, UDF, SDPI and Welfare Party of India in the 2025 local body elections. 

“Twenty20 lost some of its home ground. The party lost two of its four panchayats, but marked its presence in new territories”, he said. 

Mr. Jacob described the intense hostility toward Twenty20 as “an eye-opener.” Moreover, he said, the party’s development perspective dovetailed with that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

“The party needed to push back against the nexus hell-bent on rendering Twenty20 a political non-entity in Kerala. We desperately needed allies and found none better than the NDA to avenge ourselves upon our enemies”, he said. 

‘LDF-UDF duopoly’

Mr Jacob said only an expanding NDA alliance could end “the LDF-UDF duopoly” in the State. “Kerala’s scandal-driven coalition politics has relegated the aspirations of educated youth to the back burner. Many are fleeing the State to make a living”, he said. 

Mr Jacob alleged that Kerala had become “a graveyard for investors” and recounted how “a hostile” LDF government had forced him to relocate part of his garment business to Telangana. “I created 50,000 jobs in Telangana, which Kerala could have benefited from had it not been for the ruling LDF”, he said. 

Mr Jacob denied that Twenty20 barely made a ripple on its home turf in Ernakulam district in the local body polls. “The party increased its vote share from 9% to 12%. It emerged as a decisive third force in Kollam and also Palakkad”, he added. 

This will supercharge NDA expansion: Chandrasekhar

Mr Chandrasekhar said Mr Jacob would join Mr Modi on the dais when the Prime Minister visits Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. He said Twenty20 would “supercharge NDA’s expansion” in Kerala.

JSS faction joins NDA

Earlier, Mr Chandrasekhar also welcomed the Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samithi (JSS) faction led by former MLA A.V. Thamarakshan to the NDA.

JSS State secretary Rajan Babu, however, denied a split in the party and said the organisation had earlier expelled Mr. Thamarakshan.