Published Jan 27, 2026 | 3:06 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 27, 2026 | 7:08 PM
Twenty20 chief coordinator Sabu M Jacob meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Synopsis: The ED has registered a case under the FEMA over alleged irregular foreign fund transfers and has issued two summons to the company. While, Jacob did not appear personally before investigators, sending a chartered accountant instead.
Twenty20 the Anna–Kitex Group-backed political party’s decision to join the NDA came as the ED stepped up its investigation into Kitex Group, owned by Sabu M Jacob.
The ED has registered a case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) over alleged irregular foreign fund transfers and has issued two summons to the company. While, Jacob did not appear personally before investigators, sending a chartered accountant instead.
Amid the intensified probe, Jacob announced Twenty20’s alliance with the NDA on 22 January, and the party was formally inducted the next day in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — marking its first entry into any political front.
Reacting to this, Ernakulam DCC president Mohammed Shiyas said that if the alliance was driven by the ED investigation, it was ridiculous.
However, later on Tuesday, 27 January, Sabu M. Jacob strongly denied media reports suggesting that his decision to join the NDA was driven by an attempt to evade action by the ED.
Addressing a press conference, Jacob said claims linking his political move to alleged violations of the FEMA were “deliberate distortions” of routine administrative processes.
He clarified that the ED notice issued to Kitex in May 2025 sought basic clarifications on financial statements and export-related transactions, including delays in overseas payments during the COVID-19 period, and did not relate to any criminal investigation or money laundering probe.
“The notice was purely procedural, similar to inquiries raised by the GST or Income Tax departments. There are no FEMA violations against the company,” Jacob said, adding that Kitex’s Chief Financial Officer had fully cooperated with authorities by submitting all required documents.
He stressed that the group had operated for over three decades without facing any financial penalties or legal infringements.
Jacob accused sections of the media of spreading “malicious rumours”, including reports of an imminent arrest, and said he would initiate legal action.
He announced plans to file complaints with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and seek a probe into alleged information leaks from investigative agencies.
Explaining Twenty20’s entry into the NDA, Jacob said the move was a strategic necessity amid what he described as a hostile political environment in Kerala, where rival parties allegedly worked together to undermine the organisation and target its supporters.
Twenty20 rose to prominence by disrupting traditional political equations in parts of Ernakulam district and positioning itself as an alternative to both the Left and the Congress-led fronts.
Launched in 2013 with the promise of transforming Kizhakkambalam into a model village, Twenty20 stunned the state in the 2015 local body polls by winning 17 of 19 wards in the panchayat, positioning itself as a disruptive force that unnerved all three fronts, especially both the UDF and the LDF.
That early sheen, however, has steadily dulled.
The just-concluded local body elections exposed a visible strain: the outfit lost control of Kunnathunadu and Mazhuvannoor panchayats it had swept in 2020, scraped through with reduced margins in its headquarters Kizhakkambalam, and failed to make any real impression in Kochi Corporation, where its vote counts slid into single and double digits in several divisions.
Against this backdrop of erosion, came an announcement from party chief coordinator Jacob that Twenty20 was open to alliances with any of the three major fronts — including the NDA — signalling a turn driven less by ideology than by political survival.
While Jacob insisted that no front was “untouchable” and that the party must secure a deal that preserves its identity, insiders acknowledge that efforts to strike understandings with the UDF or the LDF came to naught, narrowing Twenty20’s options.
However, the suddenness of the move to become part of NDA has also unsettled the rank and file.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
