LUCKNOW: A day after Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress faced a decisive defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections, the future of a potential collaboration between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections now hangs in the balance.
Background of the SP-I-PAC Talks
I-PAC, which has been instrumental in curating the Trinamool Congress's poll campaigns since 2019, was in discussions with the Samajwadi Party for the 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. However, according to a senior SP functionary familiar with the exchanges, the engagement remained preliminary. "All that had happened between I-PAC and SP till now was that the company had made a presentation before the SP leadership outlining their blueprint for the campaign design. There was no formal agreement beyond that," the functionary stated.
Akhilesh Yadav's Reluctance
Sources within the Samajwadi Party revealed that party president Akhilesh Yadav was not particularly keen on hiring I-PAC. He reportedly agreed to review the agency's presentation at the behest of the Trinamool Congress leadership. Following TMC's poor performance in the West Bengal polls, it is highly improbable that the SP leadership will pursue further negotiations with the firm, a party source indicated.
I-PAC's Current Challenges
According to I-PAC sources, the company is grappling with multiple crises and is not in a position to take on new assignments at this time. I-PAC was managing TMC's election campaign in West Bengal when it came under scrutiny after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided its Kolkata office, leading to a confrontation between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the central agency.
The Evolution of I-PAC
I-PAC, now led by Pratik Jain, was founded by Jan Suraj Party chief Prashant Kishor, who rose to prominence for designing election campaigns for major political figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2015, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2017, and the Trinamool Congress. Prashant Kishor left I-PAC to enter mainstream politics, and his Jan Suraj Party made its electoral debut in the recent Bihar assembly elections but failed to win any seats.
