Lucknow : The Samajwadi Party(SP) is learnt to have decided to distance itself from political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. While the Akhilesh Yadav-led party has never officially announced a formal tie-up with I-PAC, sources within the party said discussions over a possible campaign-management arrangement had been underway for months.
The decision gathered momentum after the recent 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. The rethink also comes amid scrutiny surrounding I-PAC earlier this year, when the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the consultancy’s Kolkata office and the residence of co-founder Pratik Jain as part of a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged coal smuggling case.
According to SP insiders, the timing of those raids had already made sections of the party leadership uneasy. Sources claimed that on the very day ED officials were conducting searches at I-PAC’s Kolkata office, representatives from the consultancy were in Lucknow giving a presentation to Samajwadi Party leaders regarding a possible collaboration for the 2027 elections. The 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election is expected to be a direct contest between the Samajwadi Party and the BJP.
No formal public comment on the matter is expected from the party. Both the Samajwadi Party and I-PAC have remained silent on reports suggesting a split. The 2027 UP Assembly election is likely to be a straight contest between the Samajwadi Party and the BJP. Akhilesh Yadav has been intensifying his offensive against the government over unemployment, the caste census, law and order, and farmers’ concerns.
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