Twenty20, AAP may field joint candidate in Thrikkakara

Byelection to the Assembly seat to be held shortly

The Twenty20 and the Aam Admi Party (AAP) have agreed to field a joint candidate in the forthcoming Thrikkakara Assembly byelection though both are yet to take a final call on whether to contest the bypoll in the first place.

The byelection is set to be held shortly. The seat fell vacant following the demise of P.T. Thomas in December.

Sabu M. Jacob, chief coordinator, Twenty20, said here on Friday that unlike conventional political parties neither of the outfits was adamant on who should nominate the joint candidate.

“The candidate could be from either side based on a consensus. Though many names are being discussed, it’s premature to reveal anything,” he said.

Vote share

Mr. Jacob said his organisation’s vote share of over 14,000 in the constituency in the last Assembly election will only increase and that it would not be a hard task to transfer those to the joint candidate.

Asked whether joining hands with the AAP was a step backward for the Twenty20 after having contested independently in eight constituencies in the last Assembly elections, he said that it was, in fact, an indication of the organisation gaining strength and cited how the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front have multiple allies.

P.C. Cyriac, State convener, AAP, was less forthcoming about the alliance. “The Twenty20 has pledged us its support. But we are yet to decide whether to contest the bypoll or not. Initially, we will have to take a decision here and then send the proposal to Delhi for approval,” he said.

Mr. Jacob was evasive when asked whether the proposed alliance was an indication of things to come in future elections. “We only have discussions locally about the Thrikkakara bypoll. I cannot comment on something that we haven’t discussed yet,” he said.

The late Thomas had retained Thrikkakara for the UDF by 14,329 votes despite the electoral wave in favour of the LDF in the last Assembly elections.