Twenty20 is the only business-backed group in the state that manages local agencies.
Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) wing of Kerala’s leading Anna-Kitex industrial group, had made history in 2015 when it prevailed in the local body elections and came to power in Kizhakkambalam gram panchayat in Ernakulam district of Kerala Five years later, the apolitical group has triumphed again. This time, they have not only retained the Kizhakkambalam panchayat, but they have also swept three neighboring panchayats, pushing LDF and UDF down the winners list.
In the stellar performance, Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam swept all 14 seats in Aikkaranadu gram panchayat, with the majority of the candidates securing a huge vote share. In neighboring Kunnathunad panchayat, the group won 11 of 18 seats and 16 of 19 seats in Mazhuvannoor panchayat, securing clear majorities to come to power.
In the Kizhakkambalam gram panchayat, where the corporate-backed group came to power in the 2015 elections, Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam leads in all seats with a clear majority. In seven of the nine districts, where Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam ran candidates in Vengola gram panchayat, the candidates are leading with a significant and appreciable share of the vote.
Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam is the only business group in the state, and apparently in many other states, that manages the local bodies. The Twenty20 had entered the electoral contest by stating that it will make the Kizhakambalam panchayat the best panchayat in the country by 2020.
The group had made headlines after coming to power when they built a residential village in one of the Kizhakkambalam districts and rebuilt old dilapidated houses in the ‘laksham veedu’ colony. The group’s established food safety market, which sells products at a 50% discount, has also attracted a lot of attention.
“The people in Kizhakkambalam evaluated the administration for the last five years and this is the reward that people gave us for our work. The LDF, UDF, SDPI and Welfare Party came together to attack and destroy us,” said Sabu Jacob, the coordinator principal of twenty 20.
Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam had also made headlines recently, when a couple in the Kizhakkambalam panchayat, one of whom works in the Anna-Kitex group, was attacked by UDF and LDF workers as they arrived at a voting booth in Kummanod district. for vote. The video of the couple attacked in the presence of police officers had gone viral. In the video, members of rival parties are seen preventing the couple from casting their vote, dragging them out of the voting table. The UDF and LDF in the region alleged that the couple did not have adequate proof of identity to cast votes and claimed that this was the reason they tried to detain them. It should be noted that 20 candidates from Kizhakkambalam also won in this district.
Incidentally, earlier this year, the president of the Kizhakkambalam panchayat, KV Jacob, had resigned from office, broadcasting important allegations against Sabu Jacob, the head of the business group. Jacob expressed his disgust at Sabu’s “excessive leniency” in governing the local body. During the election campaign, rivals raised accusations, claiming that the CSR group operates autocratically in the panchayat. However, the election results have ruled out the accusations.
Speaking to Asianet News, Sabu Jacob said that the Kizhakkambalam panchayat model will not be replicated exactly in the other panchayats. “Each panchayat will have its own need, we will conduct a study and implement separate models there,” he said.
Read also: After Kitex, Chellanam 20/20 will contest the polls of local bodies in Kerala
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