<p>Before his death in December 2021, the late Congress MLA P T Thomas, in June that year, had raised serious allegations of pollution against Kochi-based Kitex group. The corporate group, in turn, had served Thomas with a Rs 100-crore defamation notice, accusing the MLA of making baseless accusations.</p>.<p>In the intervening months since then, a lot has happened: Thomas succumbed to cancer in December, his constituency, Thrikkakkara, is going for by-polls for a new representative, his party has named his wife Uma to be its candidate.</p>.<p>But the most unnerving is Thomas’s party, Congress, seeking support from Twenty20, a non-profit collective promoted by Kitex group for the by-election, scheduled for May 31.</p>.<p>This move has cast doubts about Congress keeping alive the political ideologies of Thomas who had, throughout his political career, hailed to have remained firm about his beliefs, especially environmental issues.</p>.<p>Hence Congress leadership seeking the support of Twenty20 is raising questions whether the party is compromising on Thomas’s political stances, in exchange for electoral gains.</p>.<p>Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Sudhakaran’s justification for the move is that in politics there are no permanent enemies.</p>.<p>While Thomas’s vote share was 43.7 per cent, CPM-backed Independent candidate J Jacob's vote share was 33.4 percent.</p>.<p>For this reason, the decision of Twenty20 not to contest this by-election had prompted both Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) to seek Twenty20’s support.</p>.<p>Kitex group managing director and Twenty20 chief coordinator Sabu M Jacob is yet to announce his party’s stance on the election. His hostility with the CPM was quite evident when the state-led agencies carried out a series of raids at his units in Kochi recently, and he pulled out from a Rs 3,500 crore project proposal in Kerala. In February, CPM workers were also accused of the murder of a Twenty20 activist at Kizhakambalam panchayat in Kochi.</p>.<p>In the meanwhile, political analysts are keenly watching the trajectory of the recent Aam Aadmi Party-Twenty20 alliance. Analysts say that for this alliance to grow in Kerala, the Congress needs to become weaker. Thus, the chances of Twenty20 working towards increasing their relevance in the state could not be ruled out either.</p>
<p>Before his death in December 2021, the late Congress MLA P T Thomas, in June that year, had raised serious allegations of pollution against Kochi-based Kitex group. The corporate group, in turn, had served Thomas with a Rs 100-crore defamation notice, accusing the MLA of making baseless accusations.</p>.<p>In the intervening months since then, a lot has happened: Thomas succumbed to cancer in December, his constituency, Thrikkakkara, is going for by-polls for a new representative, his party has named his wife Uma to be its candidate.</p>.<p>But the most unnerving is Thomas’s party, Congress, seeking support from Twenty20, a non-profit collective promoted by Kitex group for the by-election, scheduled for May 31.</p>.<p>This move has cast doubts about Congress keeping alive the political ideologies of Thomas who had, throughout his political career, hailed to have remained firm about his beliefs, especially environmental issues.</p>.<p>Hence Congress leadership seeking the support of Twenty20 is raising questions whether the party is compromising on Thomas’s political stances, in exchange for electoral gains.</p>.<p>Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Sudhakaran’s justification for the move is that in politics there are no permanent enemies.</p>.<p>While Thomas’s vote share was 43.7 per cent, CPM-backed Independent candidate J Jacob's vote share was 33.4 percent.</p>.<p>For this reason, the decision of Twenty20 not to contest this by-election had prompted both Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) to seek Twenty20’s support.</p>.<p>Kitex group managing director and Twenty20 chief coordinator Sabu M Jacob is yet to announce his party’s stance on the election. His hostility with the CPM was quite evident when the state-led agencies carried out a series of raids at his units in Kochi recently, and he pulled out from a Rs 3,500 crore project proposal in Kerala. In February, CPM workers were also accused of the murder of a Twenty20 activist at Kizhakambalam panchayat in Kochi.</p>.<p>In the meanwhile, political analysts are keenly watching the trajectory of the recent Aam Aadmi Party-Twenty20 alliance. Analysts say that for this alliance to grow in Kerala, the Congress needs to become weaker. Thus, the chances of Twenty20 working towards increasing their relevance in the state could not be ruled out either.</p>