KOCHI: The two formidable political fronts — UDF and LDF — will have to face an emerging competitor in Ernakulam district this assembly polls, with Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam deciding to contest in seven seats in the district while discussions are on to identify candidates for the other seven constituencies.Buoyed by the success in four grama panchayats in the local body polls in the district, Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam, the corporate social responsibility (CS) wing of industry group Anna-Kitex, has finalised the list of candidates in seven constituencies while the process is on to zero in on the right candidates for the other seven constituencies.
“The most challenging part is finding the right candidates. As of now, we are planning to contest in all assembly constituencies in the district, but the final list of seats will be decided only after scrutinising candidates,” said Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam chief coordinator Sabu M Jacob. He said they were finding it hard to find the right candidates. “We can’t just make any one our candidate. We will contest in a seat only if we have the right candidate,” he said.
As per an analysis of the local body polls, Twenty20 will have considerable influence in Assembly seats like Perumbavoor, Kunnathunadu and Thrikkakara which are all held by UDF. However, UDF leadership is confident that the corporate-backed apolitical organisation will not be able to do any damage to the prospects of its candidates in the polls.
“We are not afraid of anybody. This assembly elections , the UDF will surely defeat all other candidates in the fray. We are confident of defeating the LDF. So an organisation like Twenty20 is never an opponent for us,” said KPCC working president K V Thomas.Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) chairman D Dhanuraj said an apolitical organisation like Twenty20, which does not have any ideological mooring, is functioning by promising a lot of deliverables to the people.
“In fact, by delivering on the promises, they have been able to win the confidence of the people, specifically in a panchayat like Kizhakkambalam. To an extent, people are also looking for a change and Twenty20 with its different approach in administration stands a good chance to win a considerable number of votes,” he said.
It was in 2015 that Twenty20 scripted success when it contested in local body elections and came to power in Kizhakkambalam grama panchayat. They could extend their influence to nearby grama panchayats when they swept three more neighbouring panchayats defeating both LDF and UDF.