Despite much hype surrounding its entry into the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Twenty20 party failed to make a significant impact in the Kerala assembly elections or even improve its vote share. In its home turf of Kunnathunad, where the party secured 42,000 votes in the 2021 elections, it managed only 34,000 votes this time.
Key Constituencies Underperform
In Thrikkakara and Tripunithura, party candidates were expected to perform well but could not garner the anticipated votes. Tripunithura, a stronghold of the BJP where the party assumed power in municipal elections in 2025, saw its NDA candidate Anjali Nair secure less than 30,000 votes. In Kunnathunad, the Twenty20 candidate received around 42,000 votes in 2021, while the BJP candidate got about 8,000 votes. After Twenty20 joined the NDA, expectations were high for an increase, but the vote share declined by around 8,000 in this election.
Analysis of Vote Trends
Promy Kuriakose, who contested on a Twenty20 ticket from Angamaly, could mobilize only 9,893 votes. In 2021, the BJP candidate from Angamaly received 8,677 votes. Despite Twenty20 joining the BJP-led front in 2026, the front managed to increase votes by only about 800, a nominal gain. In most constituencies, Twenty20's vote share showed a downward trend. In the Kochi assembly constituency, Twenty20 candidate Xavier Julappan got only 11,854 votes, compared to 19,676 votes for the Twenty20 candidate in 2021, while the BJP candidate had won 10,991 votes then. In Vypeen, Twenty20 candidate Anitha Thomas received 13,637 votes, down from 16,707 votes for Twenty20 in 2021, while the BJP candidate had secured 13,540 votes.
Overall Performance
As an NDA alliance partner, Twenty20 party candidates contested from 19 seats across Kerala. Kodungalloor was the only constituency outside the Ernakulam district segments where the party could garner more than 20,000 votes.
