I-PAC sabotaged TMC's poll campaign, can land Mamata in jail, claim party leaders

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is in the midst of a painful reckoning. The party that ruled West Bengal for 15 uninterrupted years suffered a crushing defeat in the Assembly elections. Days after the TMC's defeat, several party leaders have launched a sharp attack on election consultancy firm, I-PAC, which advised it for these polls. They levelled grave allegations against I-PAC, with a now-suspended spokesperson saying that TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's defence of it could land her in jail.

The TMC leaders accused I-PAC of sabotaging the party's chances in the election, where it won 80 seats out of 293 seats that went to the polls. The Mamata Banerjee-led party was routed by the BJP, which won 207 seats.

TMC MP and the party's former chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Kalyan Banerjee, alleged that I-PAC had "hijacked" the TMC organisation and deliberately created divisions among leaders and workers. Now-suspended TMC spokesperson, Riju Dutta, claimed I-PAC had virtually taken over the party in the months leading up to the election and alleged that he was asked to pay 50 lakh for a ticket.

Dutta added that since party chief Mamata Banerjee had stood in I-PAC's defence when it was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), there was now a threat of her being jailed.

Apart from them, two TMC leaders, former Rajganj MLA Khageswar Roy and former Alipurduar MLA Sourav Chakraborty, also blamed I-PAC for interfering in candidate selection and harming the party's grassroots structure, according to reports.

I-PAC KOLKATA OFFICE RAIDED BY ED AHEAD OF 2026 POLLS

I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee), founded in 2013, is India's largest political consultancy firm, known for data analytics, booth-level micromanagement, candidate selection inputs, digital outreach, and grassroots mobilisation. It has worked with several parties, including the BJP, Congress, YSRCP, and DMK. Its partnership with the TMC began ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls and continued in the run-up to the 2026 polls.

Riding on a well-crafted campaign that projected Mamata Banerjee as "Bengal's daughter", the Trinamool Congress secured a massive victory in 2021, winning 215 seats. I-PAC's strategies were also credited with helping the party bag 29 of West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general elections. For years, the partnership was seen as a major success story for both the party and the consultancy firm.

In January, when the ED conducted raids on the I-PAC office in Kolkata and the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain in connection with a coal smuggling money laundering case, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee supported I-PAC by visiting the raid sites. The ED alleged that she removed "documents and evidence". The TMC accused the BJP-led Centre of political vendetta ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

DMK TOO WAS ADVISED BY I-PAC, LOST IN TAMIL NADU

Not just in West Bengal, I-PAC's Tamil Nadu client, the DMK, too faced a poll rout. The coalition led by the DMK, the ruling party, came second.

"IPAC advised two CMs... One in Bengal and the other in Tamil Nadu. Both CMs lost their respective seats," political commentator Amitabh Tiwari wrote on X. While Mamata lost at Kolkata's Bhabanipur, former Tamil Nadu CM and DMK leader, MK Stalin lost his Kolathur seat in Chennai.

However, the consulting agency hasn't faced such allegations of impropriety in Tamil Nadu as it is facing in West Bengal.

India Today Digital on Monday reached out to I-PAC for comments regarding allegations levelled by the TMC leaders. The copy will be updated as and when I-PAC responds.

Days after the TMC debacle in West Bengal and the DMK's in Tamil Nadu, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav officially terminated the party's contract with I-PAC for the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The SP chief cited "financial constraints" as the reason behind the decision, dismissing claims that the action was guided by recent electoral results.

I-PAC HIJACKED TMC, CREATED DIVISIONS AMONG MEMBERS: KALYAN BANERJEE

However, after the TMC's defeat in West Bengal, the narrative of the party seems to have changed dramatically. Several senior TMC leaders have now publicly accused I-PAC of sabotaging the party's campaign and weakening its organisation from within.

The most prominent voice has been Kalyan Banerjee, TMC MP and the party's former chief whip in the Lok Sabha. In an interview with Anandabazar Patrika, Banerjee alleged that I-PAC had "hijacked" the Trinamool Congress organisation and deliberately created divisions among leaders and workers.

"I-PAC hijacked the Trinamool Congress organisation and ruined it. They instigated fights among potential candidates. They told many people in every Assembly constituency that your feedback is the best, you alone will get the ticket. Those who didn't get the ticket helped the BJP out of anger,' Banerjee told the Kolkata-based Bangla news outlet.

Banerjee also criticised TMC number two, Abhishek Banerjee, over his "heavy dependence on the firm". He added that the "heavy dependence" on I-PAC was not accepted within the party.

DEFENCE OF I-PAC CAN LAND MAMATA IN JAIL, CLAIMS RIJU DUTTA

Riju Dutta, the spokesperson suspended by the TMC for six years on Saturday, levelled even more serious charges.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Dutta claimed I-PAC had virtually taken over the party in the months leading up to the election. He alleged he was asked to pay 50 lakh to contest and was instructed to target BJP leaders, Suvendu Adhikari and his father Sisir Adhikari.

Dutta also alleged that there was now a risk of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee being jailed because of her defence of the firm when it was being raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

For context, as the ED was in the midst of raiding the residence of I-PAC head Prateek Jain in Loudon Street in central Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe in January this year, when Mamata dropped in and allegedly walked out with several files.

I-PAC RAISED HUGE SUMS OF MONEY, SAYS SUSPENDED TMC SPOX

"Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and Abhishek Banerjee must take responsibility for how an outsider organisation (I-PAC) managed to capture the entire party... When ED raids took place at TMC leaders' homes, Didi rushed to secure party data. Today, an ED case against her is in the Supreme Court, and if it goes against her, jail is possible," Riju Dutta told ANI.

He further questioned the role and whereabouts of I-PAC director Prateek Jain, accusing the firm of profiting heavily and raising large sums of money while leaving the TMC damaged.

In April, the ED had summoned Pulkit Jain, the brother of Pratik Jain, and Barbie Jain, his wife, to appear before its Delhi office, sources told India Today TV.

"But you can't challenge I-PAC because it is only running the party. It kept Didi in the dark in this manner. I don't know why Abhishek Da didn't know this? This destroyed the party... Didi and Abhishek Da will have to take responsibility for the sabotage of this party by I-PAC...," Dutta told the news agency.

People are also pointing to the arrest of I-PAC co-founder Vinesh Chandel just 10 days before Bengal elections, and being freed a day after voting by a local court, without the ED contesting his release.

I-PAC INTERVENED IN CANDIDATE SELECTION, HOLLOWED OUT TMC?

Several district-level Trinamool Congress leaders, including former Rajganj MLA Khageswar Roy and Sourav Chakraborty, the former MLA of Alipurduar, also blamed I-PAC for interfering in candidate selection and harming the party's grassroots structure, reported The Hindu newspaper.

While I-PAC associates, mostly young professionals, were involved in strategy and ground feedback for the TMC, final decision-making power stayed with Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, according to reports. However, the TMC leaders are claiming that I-PAC denied them access to both Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee. They claim that the I-PAC dismantled the TMC's entire organisational structure, bringing about the party's defeat.

Now, I-PAC, which had been credited with scripting Mamata Banerjee's biggest political victories, is being attacked and slammed for sabotaging the TMC's performance in the Bengal polls. After the TMC's worst defeat in over a decade, the firm is now being accused by TMC leaders of hollowing out the organisation from within, deepening factionalism, and replacing grassroots politics with corporate-style political management. And the most important fear, as highlighted by Riju Dutta, is that the party's chief, Mamata Banerjee, faces the risk of arrest because of I-PAC.