After Bengal, TN setbacks, Samajwadi Party drops I-PAC tie-up for UP battle
While the SP never formally announced a tie-up, discussions over a possible campaign-management arrangement had been underway for months. Those talks have now been shelved, sources told India Today.
- May 6, 2026,
- Updated May 6, 2026 2:50 PM IST
Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) has decided to distance itself from political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The development comes after TMC and DMK lost elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, respectively.
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While the SP never formally announced a tie-up, discussions over a possible campaign-management arrangement had been underway for months. Those talks have now been shelved, sources told India Today.
The decision gathered momentum after the defeats of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu, where I-PAC was believed to be involved in election strategy and campaign management. Party leaders now want to rely on their own organisational network rather than outsource campaign operations, sources said.
Concerns within the party also deepened earlier this year when the Enforcement Directorate searched I-PAC's Kolkata office and the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain in a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged coal smuggling case.
The raids triggered a political flashpoint in West Bengal, with Banerjee visiting the I-PAC office and accusing central agencies of targeting party data and election strategy material.
According to SP insiders, the timing of the searches raised further doubts. On the same day, ED officials were conducting raids in Kolkata, and I-PAC representatives were in Lucknow making a presentation to Samajwadi Party leaders on a potential collaboration for the 2027 elections.
That episode, combined with the subsequent electoral reverses in Bengal and Tamil Nadu, reinforced concerns within the party about the risks of a close association with the consultancy.
The party is unlikely to make a formal public statement, and neither the Samajwadi Party nor I-PAC has commented on the development.
The 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election is expected to be a direct contest between the SP and the BJP.
Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) has decided to distance itself from political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The development comes after TMC and DMK lost elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, respectively.
Don't Miss: Amit Shah’s Bengal Blueprint: How The ‘Modern Chanakya’ Cracked India’s Toughest Political Code!
While the SP never formally announced a tie-up, discussions over a possible campaign-management arrangement had been underway for months. Those talks have now been shelved, sources told India Today.
The decision gathered momentum after the defeats of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu, where I-PAC was believed to be involved in election strategy and campaign management. Party leaders now want to rely on their own organisational network rather than outsource campaign operations, sources said.
Concerns within the party also deepened earlier this year when the Enforcement Directorate searched I-PAC's Kolkata office and the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain in a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged coal smuggling case.
The raids triggered a political flashpoint in West Bengal, with Banerjee visiting the I-PAC office and accusing central agencies of targeting party data and election strategy material.
According to SP insiders, the timing of the searches raised further doubts. On the same day, ED officials were conducting raids in Kolkata, and I-PAC representatives were in Lucknow making a presentation to Samajwadi Party leaders on a potential collaboration for the 2027 elections.
That episode, combined with the subsequent electoral reverses in Bengal and Tamil Nadu, reinforced concerns within the party about the risks of a close association with the consultancy.
The party is unlikely to make a formal public statement, and neither the Samajwadi Party nor I-PAC has commented on the development.
The 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election is expected to be a direct contest between the SP and the BJP.