Twenty20's Vote Base Collapses in Ernakulam; Thousands of Votes Vanish Following NDA Alliance

Kochi: Twenty20, which contested nine constituencies in Ernakulam district as part of the NDA, suffered a dramatic collapse in its vote base across most seats, with thousands of votes it had secured independently in the local body elections six months ago simply disappearing when it contested under the NDA banner.

In Kunnathunad, Twenty20 had polled 46,163 votes independently in the local body elections but received only 40,221 as an NDA candidate — a drop of over 6,000. In Thrippunithura, while the NDA vote rose slightly, over 5,000 votes Twenty20 had won on its own were nowhere to be found. The pattern was most stark in Vaippin, where Twenty20 had finished third with 16,540 votes in 2021 contesting independently, yet polled just 13,637 under the NDA this time. The UDF won there by 15,648.

In Aluva, where BJP contested, NDA votes rose by around 3,000 but over 10,000 votes Twenty20 had secured in the local body elections vanished. The UDF also saw a gain of around 15,000 votes there. In Kalamassery, BDJS lost around 7,000 votes compared to the local body election where Twenty20 alone had won nearly 6,000. In Paravur — V D Satheesan's constituency — BJP votes fell by around 3,000, with Twenty20 having won 7,376 independently in the local body polls. In Angamaly and Muvattupuzha, similar patterns emerged with thousands of votes Twenty20 got in the previous election absent.

The data suggests that a significant portion of Twenty20's support base refused to follow the organisation into the NDA alliance.