After successfully expanding its bastion in the local body polls held in December 2021, Kizhakkambalam Twenty20, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) wing of prominent industry group Anna-Kitex, has decided to contest in the 2021 Kerala Assembly election too. The group’s Chief Coordinator and founder Sabu M Jacob told TNM that the outfit intends to field candidates in all the 14 Assembly constituencies in Ernakulam.
Kizhakkambalam Twenty20 was formed in May 2013 with the announcement that the group will make the Kizhakkambalam panchayat in Ernakulam district into a model village by 2020. In 2015, they contested in the local body polls from the Kizhakkambalam gram panchayat and won 17 out of 19 seats, thus becoming India’s first corporate wing-owned local body. In 2020 local body polls, the group came to power in two more panchayats, in addition to the Kizhakkambalam panchayat.
Twenty20 not only retained power in Kizhakkambalam but also came to power in neighbouring Kunnathunad panchayat and Mazhuvannoor panchayat, pulling down both Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
The local body polls was a major confidence booster for the team. In February this year, Kizhakkambalam Twenty20 kickstarted a membership campaign, aiming to contest in Kerala Assembly polls.
“We have now decided to field candidates in all the 14 constituencies. Candidates have been finalised in some constituencies, and we are in the process of finalising candidates in other constituencies. We are looking for young and educated candidates,” Sabu M Jacob told TNM.
He also added that the group is confident about setting their mark in the Assembly polls. “Since we started our membership campaign, we managed to get at least 50 members for each ward in the Ernakulam district,” Sabu said, talking about the apolitical group’s growth outside its bastion, Kizhakkambalam.