Twenty20 was used as an agency to recruit people to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleged Raseena Pareeth, a Twenty20 member and former president of Vadavucode block panchayat.
She addressed a press conference alongside Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President VP Sajeendran in Kolancherry on Friday (January 23, 2026). Ms. Pareeth led a group of Twenty20 members who announced their decision to quit the party and join the Congress to protest against joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Ms. Pareeth alleged that the survey conducted by Twenty20 a few months ago under the guise of issuing loyalty cards that offered benefits beyond those provided by the food security market was actually a ploy to recruit people to the BJP. The survey form had columns for caste and religion. “What is the use of these details in providing benefits to people?” she asked.
She said that while there were hints of a possible tie-up with the BJP in the past, there was no concrete evidence. “The decision to join the NDA was taken unilaterally by a few individuals, without consulting the elected representatives or ward committees of the party. We came to know about it only through TV channels,” she added.
“It has been said all along that the party will not join the right or the left, but will dissolve if forced to do so. There will be mass resignations and exodus from the party, including elected representatives, in the coming days,” Ms Pareeth warned.
Mr. Sajeendran described the decision to join the NDA as “game over” for Sabu M. Jacob, whom he said the voters would drive away if he approached them with food before the next Assembly elections. “Consultations with the BJP national leadership took place even before the local public polls, betraying the faith of the voters. The BJP is using Twenty20 as a shortcut to crack Kunnathunadu Assembly constituency, which has a high concentration of minorities and scheduled castes. After the failures in the local polls, it realized that Mr. Jacob has no more power.”
Meanwhile, Twenty20 vice-president V. Gopakumar dismissed resignations from the party as having little impact, saying all the mandalam presidents and state committee members of the party stood firmly behind the leadership’s decision to join the NDA.
In a separate press conference, CPI(M) district secretariat member KS Arunkumar and Kolancherry area committee secretary KK Elias claimed that disgruntled Twenty20 members would flock to their party in large numbers. They accused Mr. Jacob of misleading voters and demanded an apology.
Published – 23 Jan 2026 19:30 IST
