Twenty20, the political outfit that originated from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) wing of Kerala’s Anna-Kitex group, joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday, January 22. The formal induction is expected to take place during an event to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Thiruvananthapuram.
The decision came about after discussions between Twenty20 president Sabu M Jacob and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on January 22.
Addressing the media after the meeting, S Suresh, state general secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, “Twenty20 has joined the NDA today following discussions between Sabu M Jacob and Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The party has a presence in Kerala’s local self-government institutions. Twenty20 is currently in the opposition in two gram panchayats, and around 89 of its representatives have been elected in local body elections,” Suresh said.
In the press conference, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Twenty20 and its leader Sabu M Jacob will be formally inducted into the NDA on January 23 at an event attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We aim to change Kerala’s political culture by focusing on development, faith protection and security.”
Sabu M Jacob said the decision to join the NDA was taken after detailed deliberations. He stated that achieving the objective of a developed Kerala would be difficult while functioning independently and that the party felt alignment with the NDA was necessary to move forward.
Twenty20 is backed by the Anna-Kitex group, a Kerala-based corporate house with over five decades of operations. The group began as Anna Aluminium before diversifying into garments through Kitex Garments and later into spices under the Saras brand. Its CSR wing entered electoral politics in 2015 by taking control of the Kizhakkambalam gram panchayat.
The organisation first contested local body elections in 2015, winning 17 of the 19 seats in Kizhakkambalam. In the 2020 local elections, Twenty20 won Kizhakkambalam, Ainarakkad, Muzhavannur and Kunnathnad gram panchayats. In the 2025 local self-government elections, Twenty20 lost Muzhavannur and Kunnathnad panchayats to the UDF, retaining control over two of the four panchayats it had earlier won.
Led by businessman Sabu M Jacob, chairman of the Anna-Kitex group, Twenty20 has so far operated outside Kerala’s established political fronts. Its decision to align with the NDA marks a shift in its political positioning ahead of the Assembly elections.