LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party has reportedly decided to call off its proposed pact with political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The move comes in the wake of recent developments, including the Trinamool Congress’s poor performance in the West Bengal Assembly polls and the arrest of I-PAC director Vinesh Chandel by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the alleged Bengal coal smuggling case.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Wednesday, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said: “Yes, we had ties with them. They worked with us for a few months. But now we are unable to continue because we are facing a fund crunch and cannot afford to pay such huge amounts.”
The SP chief added: “Some people advised us to hire companies that claim to win elections. They suggested getting surveys done through C-Voter. They said an AVM company should be brought on board. For negative campaigns against opponents on social media, they recommended joining hands with a 360-degree campaign company and funding it.
I-PAC, which has been handling the TMC’s election campaigns since 2019, had pitched its services to the SP as it prepares for the upcoming electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh.
On the other hand, sources also claimed that I-PAC, grappling with crises on multiple fronts, is in no position to take up fresh assignments at present.
Notably, I-PAC had been curating TMC's poll campaign since 2019, and Akhilesh had entrusted it with preparing the Samajwadi Party’s electoral strategy for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The consultancy firm had earlier played a key role in the victories of DMK in Tamil Nadu and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal in 2021.
Sources said former Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and TMC chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had advised Akhilesh to hire I-PAC. Akhilesh held his first meeting with company officials in Delhi in December 2025. He met them again during his visit to West Bengal in January this year. After that, the Samajwadi Party hired I-PAC.
The Samajwadi Party has given data analysis and strategy-related work to Mumbai-based Showtime Consulting. Survey work is being handled by a Karnataka-based company. According to sources, I-PAC was assigned the task of managing the election campaign, training booth-level workers, increasing voter turnout through app-based tools, and focusing on weaknesses of opposition parties.
During the poll campaign in West Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate raided the I-PAC office in Kolkata, leading to a showdown between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the agency.
The firm, now led by Pratik Jain, was founded by Jan Suraj Party chief Prashant Kishor, who rose to prominence for designing election campaigns of political leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2015, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2017, and the TMC.
Prashant Kishor later left I-PAC to enter mainstream politics. His Jan Suraj Party made its electoral debut in the recently held Bihar Assembly elections but failed to open its account.
