Twenty20, the Kitex Group-backed political outfit, seems to be losing its sheen considerably after it lost power in two out of the four panchayats it had swept in the 2020 election and hardly created a ripple in the Kochi Corporation, where it contested in 56 divisions.
While the outfit retained power in Kizhakkambalam panchayat, its headquarters, and Aikkaranadu panchayat, it lost Kunnathunadu and Mazhuvannoor panchayats. It swept all 16 seats in Aikkaranadu and won 20 out of the 21 seats in Kizhakkambalam, where result was yet to be declared in one seat that the UDF is leading by a thin margin.
However, it was reduced to eight seats out of 21 in Kunnathunadu, where the UDF bagged 11 seats, the LDF won one, and an independent also won. In Mazhuvannoor, it was reduced to just six out of 21 seats, while the UDF won seven, the LDF three, and the BJP one, in addition to four independents. Much to the party’s relief, it managed to bag eight out of the 18 seats in Thiruvaniyoor panchayat, where the UDF and the LDF shared four seats each, while two independents also won.
In the Kochi Corporation, where it made its electoral debut in this election, its maiden fight proved dismal, to say the least. Though it contested in 56 divisions, it failed to influence the outcome anywhere, as its vote tally fell to two digits in 15 divisions, including Island North and Island South, where it polled just five and 10 votes respectively. In total, the party polled only 9,321 votes across all 56 divisions.
The party’s biggest vote tally was recorded in the Chalikkavattom division, where it polled 483 votes yet finished last among the three candidates. In the Nazreth division, it managed 353 votes and finished third ahead of the BJP and the fellow-struggler Aam Aadmi Party. It also finished third in the Fort Kochi Veli division, ahead of the BJP, with 345 votes.
The tally of 332 votes was enough for the party to finish above the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, the National Democratic Alliance partner, which also drew a blank in the Corporation. Thattazham was the only division where it managed to poll more than 300 votes, with the tally pegged at 331.
Published – December 13, 2025 03:36 pm IST
