Twenty20 party led by Kitex MD Sabu M Jacob joins NDA in Kerala

The Kitex Group-backed Twenty20 party has decided to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the Assembly elections in Kerala.

Twenty20 party convenor Sabu M Jacob announced on Thursday that his party has decided to join the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) in Kerala. The announcement was made at a joint press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, convened by Sabu M Jacob and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

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“This is a decisive decision in my life and for the Twenty20 party. I have taken the decision to join NDA after much thought,” Sabu M Jacob said.

“ We wanted to show those who wanted to eliminate us how we can change Kerala. Joining the NDA is a deliberate decision for that. We are taking the mission of changing Kerala with the NDA and the Modi government’s development vision,” Jacob said.

He further said that,” If we continue in the current situation, we will not be able to see the state of Kerala. “All our children and youth are leaving the country. Our party’s goal is to change all this and make a developed Kerala a reality,” Jacob said.

The Twenty20 will be formally inducted into the NDA fold in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will address a party programme in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

Speaking at the press conference, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the Left Front, which ruled for the last 10 years, has destroyed the state. It is expected that the people will support the vision of a developed Kerala put forward by the NDA in the upcoming elections.

Calling Sabu M Jacob an ace entrepreneur and job creator, Chandrasekhar said he was forced to move out of Kerala and establish industries in Telangana, where he created around 20,000 jobs.

” The people of Kerala wanted him to return to the state and contribute to the economic development of the state. This is a crucial election. People will support the NDA, and we will work together,” he said.

He said entry of the Twenty 20 into the NDA fold will fulfil the wish of Malayalis to see better job creation in the state and thereby achieve the goal of a ‘developed Keralam’.

The Twenty20 party, which was launched in 2013, disrupted mainstream politics in the state after winning four panchayats in the 2020 local body elections. In the 2025 local body election, the party lost two of its sitting panchayats but won two new panchayats, retaining its 2020 tally.

Meanwhile, a faction of the Janathipathya Samrakshana Samithi (JSS) led by five-time MLA AV Thamarakshan has joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In this connection, JSS state general secretary Rajan Babu said Thamarakshan was expelled from the post of state president in August last year for anti-party activities.