KOCHI: Though the BJP leadership gave a virtual free hand to the Twenty20 party to select the 21 seats it wanted to contest, the corporate-backed outfit, which aspires to create a new political culture, failed to rise to expectations. It seems the disagreement within the BJP regarding the decision to gift strongholds, including Tripunithura and Kodungallur, to Twenty20 adversely affected NDA’s fortunes in those seats. The biggest upset was Twenty20 candidate Babu Divakaran’s defeat in Kunnathunad.
In 2021, Twenty20 as a standalone entity secured 41,890 votes with a 27.64% share in Kunnathunad. For its part, the BJP bagged 7,056 votes. The NDA was betting on Twenty20 picking up Kunnathunad this time. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Twenty20 had secured 46,163 votes in the segment, while the BJP polled 8,145 votes.
However, the voting trend suggests that a section of minority community voters deserted the Twenty20 over its decision to join the NDA, which may have ate into its vote share. Babu polled 40,221 votes and finished third with a 24.97% share.
On Twenty20’s performance, party president Sabu M Jacob said workers did not get time to gel. “There was an anti-LDF wave and the UDF benefited. Still, NDA has been able to win three seats. In Tripunithura, we were able to add 6,000 votes but we came unstuck in Kunnathunad and Kodungallur. The decision to join the NDA was taken at the last minute and our workers didn’t get time to digest the change. But our performance this time will lay the foundation for NDA’s victory in 2031,” he said.
