Updated: December 20, 2020 5:01:46 am
‘villas’ instead of one-room settlements
KITEX, Kerala’s largest private sector employer, registered Twenty20 under the Charity Societies Act in 2013 as a result of a long-standing legal battle with the Congress-ruled Kizhakkambalam panchayat. In June 2012, the panchayat had refused to renew KITEX’s license on the grounds that it was polluting the water bodies of its dyeing and bleaching units, despite the High Court issuing a cleanup note. Later, when the Kizhakkambalam panchayat also obstructed KITEX’s charitable activities and a fair organized by him, Twenty20’s managing director and chief coordinator, Sabu Jacob, decided that KITEX, a Rs 1.2 billion company, mainly in the garment manufacturing, would challenge the panchayat surveys as part of its CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities.
Five years after proving success, sweeping the Kizhakkambalam panchayat, Twenty20 has proven to be more than a fluke. In recent elections, he won three more panchayats in his home district of Ernakulam – Aikkaranad, Mazhuvannoor and Kunnathunad – in addition to retaining Kizhakkambalam. This victory is sweeter, an acknowledgment of the work done by Twenty20.
“The panchayat had closed our fair because it had that conferred power. We decided to usurp that power, ”says Sabu. The name Twenty20 was meant to reflect the ambition for “holistic development” by 2020; while the mango was chosen as a voting symbol for being the national fruit.
CPM leader and outgoing Aikkaranad panchayat president KK Raju admits that they underestimated Twenty20: “We couldn’t think of Twenty20 sweeping a CPM-ruled panchayat.”
During the coronavirus shutdown, the organization coordinated the distribution of disinfectants, masks, and food kits, following this up with membership drives in the Aikkaranad, Kunnathunadu, Mazhuvannoor and Vengola panchayats. This helped Twenty20 enroll 26,500 people in two months, in addition to its current base of 8,500 members in Kizhakkambalam.
In the panchayat elections, Twenty20 swept away Aikkaranad, winning all of its 14 districts, gained a clear majority in Kunnathunad and Mazhuvannoor, and emerged as the largest party in Vengola, where it won all 10 districts (out of 23) it contested. The Mazhuvannoor and Kunnathunad panchayats were previously celebrated by the Congress-led UDF.
Former Mazhuvannoor panchayat president and local congress leader Anu Varghese reasons: “The main attraction of Twenty20 seems to be the material offers, including subsidized provisions. The middle class does not make any profit, unlike people from lower economic strata. Therefore, given an attractive offer from a corporate world, the middle class has changed its allegiance. “
However, attributing the success of Twenty20 to what it did during the crash or the sops it offers would be an oversimplification.
The Kizhakkambalam panchayat stands out as a success story in the area, with its supermarket where consumer durables are available in installments and subsidies; its free ambulance service; its new roads widened; its program for the rejuvenation of water bodies and the free supply of agricultural machinery to farmers, among other measures.
With 15,500 people on its lists, KITEX touches the lives of many people in the area. People here tell you how, despite its strong staff force, the company, with global clients like Walmart, Amazon, Target, has managed to keep Kerala’s influential unions out. In 1997, a 450-day commotion by the CPM’s union wing, CITU, had to be called off after it did not get support from staff. CITU sources, however, say the main reason was KITEX owner Jacob’s close relationship with leaders from all sides, many of whom are said to take advantage of his services as an Ayurvedic practitioner.
In fact, signs of Twenty20’s growing attraction have existed. His contenders are mostly past leaders from other parties, including the CPM, BJP, and Congress. Names don’t matter, the KITEX tag is enough.
Twenty20 underscored this connection to KITEX in their campaign, which was delegated to “coordinators” and executives. In each panchayat neighborhood, Twenty20 had a ‘neighborhood executive’, a salaried KITEX employee deployed full time; an executive committee of 25 members; and a five-member high power committee. Each member of the high-power committee was in charge of five houses. Any issue of that house that required the intervention of the panchayat would be addressed by the member. The same chief coordinator, Sabu Jacob, attended family gatherings in search of votes.
KK Surendran, a longtime CPI supporter now with Twenty20 in Kunnathunad panchayat, says: “I saw the speedy services that people received from the panchayat office. This is only possible thanks to Twenty20 “.
Levin J, a Twenty20 member in the same panchayat, says the development work at Kizhakkambalam has sparked a lot of curiosity. “We see better roads, lighted streets, free ambulance service, restored rice fields … initiatives that political leaders have failed to achieve.”
Political scientist and former Vice Chancellor of Central Kerala University Prof
G Gopakumar says Twenty20’s success shows disillusionment with mainstream politics. “This is a warning to the parties … that not only the government can provide welfare, others can.”
Twenty20’s victory is especially surprising in Kerala with its history of revolutionary and social movements, Gopakumar notes. However, he is not sure of the convenience or feasibility of the phenomenon. “With the operations of a panchayat controlled by a company, it is more corporatism than democracy… It can work at the micro level, but not at the macro level. Nobody has shown the world how democracy can work without a political party, ”says the professor.
Left-wing political observer Professor RP Azad sees the rise of Twenty20 as proof that financial forces are gaining more control in politics, even when the state fails to address people’s problems. “Political intervention has come down to give and take,” says Azad. “When the government distributes food kits, a corporate company has entered the same space. The business world sees a panchayat as a market. This is a dangerous trend that will break the very foundation of politics.
Jacob dismisses the positions of autocratic government or company in the panchayat. “If he had taken that approach, people would have kicked us out. Political leaders who used to pocket funds have lost their livelihood after Twenty20 took office. Therefore, they are raising this accusation, ”he says.
Expanding on their claims, other apolitical movements are seeking a foothold now in the space created by Twenty20, with V4Kochi contesting the Kochi Corporation polls, Twenty-Twenty Chellanam running for election in the coastal panchayat, and V4 Pattambi in Pattambi Township. . Twenty-Twenty Chellanam, featured by residents angry at the holidays for neglecting sea erosion, won eight of 21 seats in Chellanam, with the LDF winning nine and the UDF four. V4Pattambi contested with the support of LDF, and having won six seats, he is ready to share power in the municipality. V4Kochi, however, failed to win any seats.
Jacob and Twenty20’s sights, meanwhile, are higher. Shortly after the results of the panchayat, he announced that he would stand in the Assembly elections next time, just a few months away.
.
