Fronts worried over Twenty20's presence in LS election; focus will be on Chalakudy

KOCHI: Although political fronts are claiming that the Twenty20 party's decision to contest in the Lok Sabha elections won't be a challenge, the fronts seem to be worried that Twenty20's participation in the election might become decisive when it comes to the election results. The focus will be on the Chalakudy constituency which includes Kizhakkambalam, the base of Twenty20. The main parties are concerned that the urban areas with a lot of neutral voters and the Church connection of the Twenty20 candidates might influence the success or failure of the fronts.

Twenty20 has two candidates in this Lok Sabha election- Adv Antony Judy in Ernakulam and Adv Charlie Paul in Chalakudy. The party is contesting for the Lok Sabha as part of its plan to expand its activities across the state. Twenty20 had contested in eight constituencies in the last assembly elections.

Twenty20 is active in Kunnathunad, Aluva and Perumbavoor assembly constituencies in Chalakudy. The party is also governing panchayats except in Aluva.

In Chalakudy, the main contest will be between Benny Behanan of Congress and C Raveendranath of CPM.

The main enemy is the LDF
Twenty20 leadership has more enmity towards LDF. Party founder Sabu M Jacob has been maintaining a strong stand against the LDF government and its leaders.

Front leaders have not made any public responses about the Twenty20's participation in the election. The leaders are assessing whether the relationship of the two candidates with the Christian Church will have any influence on the results. Charlie Paul and Antony Judy were the office bearers of the church organizations.

Relief for fronts
The fronts are relieved by the fact that the Twenty20 candidates are unpopular and newcomers. Furthermore, none of the T20 candidates have any political background.