Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party has cut all ties with Prashant Kishore’s I-PAC for election strategy ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh slated to take place next year. The move comes just after TMC’s fall in Bengal.
Published: May 6, 2026 5:07 PM IST
Samajwadi Party has indicated that it will not work with election management firm I-PAC, founded by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, ahead of next year’s Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2027. This will mark a significant shift from just a few months ahead of the high-stakes electoral battle following doubts about the recent performance of Trinamool Congress in the Bengal Assembly elections.
Under the new agreement, the election management and social media operations will be covered by another consultancy firm, Show Time. I-PAC contracted to work specifically in constituencies where the margin of defeat in the 2022 election was narrow.
Reason for the sudden change
The break-up follows the arrest of co-founder Vinesh Chandel in a money laundering case tied to the alleged West Bengal coal scam. He had set up the firm along with Prashant Kishor and others.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Chandel in early April after conducting searches at his Delhi property. It claimed that a hawala operator connected to the alleged smugglers routed tens of crores to Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, the firm behind I-PAC.
The ED also claimed I-PAC created a model to circulate these funds and convert the black money into white. I-PAC allegedly received payments in two ways – half through banking channels (cheques/online transfers) and the other half via cash, or non-banking channels.
Notably, Chandel was released on bail last week.
SP in double mind
The controversy following the arrest seems to have prompted the Samajwadi Party to reassess its strategy ahead of the high-stakes UP election, a key test for Akhilesh Yadav against the ruling BJP.
With Mamata Banerjee losing in Bengal, the DMK ousted in Tamil Nadu by Vijay’s TVK, and Arvind Kejriwal out of power in Delhi, the pool of senior opposition leaders challenging the BJP is rapidly thinning.
I-PAC focusing on closely contested seats
I-PAC had been primarily working on constituencies where the Samajwadi Party had narrowly lost in the previous Assembly elections. Most members of the I-PAC team handling the Uttar Pradesh assignment were reportedly operating from outside the state.
The decision to end the association comes at a crucial political juncture, with the SP preparing to intensify its campaign against the ruling BJP ahead of the Assembly polls.
I-PAC operations in Bengal scaled down
In the wake of the ED raids, I-PAC appears to have significantly cut down its presence in West Bengal in the run-up to the polls. Sources said many offices were closed or operating with skeletal staff, while non-essential activities were suspended.
The scaled-down operations reportedly created friction between the Trinamool Congress and I-PAC, as sources said relations with TMC leaders took a hit after the raids.
