A political thriller is unfolding in Kizhakkambalam with Twenty20, a corporate social responsibility venture of the Rs.1,200-crore Anna-Kitex group of companies, morphing into a political adventure and setting the stage for the glorious uncertainties of democracy.
Twenty20, initially a project to turn the panchayat into a model one for the country by 2020, has fielded candidates in all the 19 wards of the panchayat, throwing a spanner in the works of the current political coalitions.
But the political fronts under the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] have put up brave faces, dismissing the phenomenon as a bubble that will not live long enough to make a lasting impression. The declarations came on the day Twenty20 made public its list of candidates for next month’s local government elections.
K.V. Jacob, expelled from the CPI, is Twenty20’s presidential candidate, contesting from Pokkattupady ward.
Opposing the apolitical lobby
In a democracy, any apolitical lobby must be opposed, said CPI(M) district secretary P. Rajeev, who also claimed that the party did not fear such formations.
The outgoing president of the United Democratic Front-ruled panchayat, Jolly Baby, is confident too. “Our chief rival is still the Left Democratic Front,” she said on Sunday after the UDF reached a seat-sharing agreement with the Indian Union Muslim League, which will contest in two of the 19 seats.
Ms. Baby said the UDF presidential candidate was Elias Kaipra, Congress mandalam president and the outgoing vice president of the panchayat.
She said the campaign would be based on the clean and efficient five-year governance by the outgoing council. Their biggest achievement, she said, was mobilising Rs.25 lakh for a relief fund, distributed to 400 people for medical treatment.
The LDF has, meanwhile, settled seat-sharing issues and the agreement is that the CPI will contest in three seats and the CPI(M) in 16.
