‘Jittery’ Samajwadi Party kills I-PAC deal for UP 2027 after poll results in Bengal, Tamil Nadu

The move triggered uncertainty among political clients and raised questions about the firm’s ability to execute large-scale election campaigns.

Another source pointed to the broader political context, suggesting that recent Assembly poll outcomes had also contributed to the SP’s rethink. “The loss of the TMC and DMK in the Assembly polls had seemingly left the SP jittery,” the source said. “The credibility was gone, especially after (West Bengal CM) Mamata Banerjee lost from her own seat by a huge margin. That was the final nail in the coffin.”

The perception of underperformance in key states appears to have influenced SP’s internal assessment of I-PAC’s effectiveness. The consultancy had been associated with campaign strategies in both West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, where electoral outcomes did not align with expectations of the parties it was advising, according to sources.

In the weeks following the raids, I-PAC is learnt to have significantly scaled down its operations in Bengal, weeks ahead of the polls. Sources said several offices in the state were either temporarily shut or reduced to skeletal staff, with non-essential campaign work put on hold.

The reduced operations deepened wedges between the TMC and I-PAC. Multiple sources in I-PAC confirmed that their relations with TMC leaders soured after the ED raids. “The leaders expected full-scale help from us, especially in the days ahead of polls. However, our reduced activity on the ground left them fuming,” a source said.

The fallout has had immediate organisational consequences. “We have shut our office in Uttar Pradesh and around 30-40 people who were hired have been asked not to report to work,” the source added, indicating a complete halt to preparatory work for the SP campaign.

A senior official within I-PAC acknowledged that multiple factors contributed to the breakdown. “Mamata was instrumental in helping I-PAC secure the SP deal, but the arrest of Chandel, who was touted to lead the Uttar Pradesh project, jeopardised the plan,” the official said. “Also, there was pressure from the BJP to back out.”

Despite the setback, the SP is unlikely to entirely forgo professional campaign support. According to sources, another firm led by former I-PAC employees is expected to assist the party in the run-up to the 2027 elections.

Within the SP, however, there appears to have been growing unease over reliance on external consultants. An SP functionary said the decision was expected. “Calling off the tie-up with I-PAC was expected after the ED last month arrested Chandel. That created a sense of uncertainty among SP leaders over the future assignments of I-PAC,” the leader said.

The same leader added that electoral outcomes in states where I-PAC had been active also played a role. “The recent results of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, where I-PAC was working for the ruling parties, led the party to rethink its decision. We are not sure how independently that firm would be able to deliver in future,” he said.

Another senior SP leader pointed to a more structural preference within the party’s leadership. “SP chief Akhilesh Yadav prefers feedback received from the party’s own workers on the ground over inputs from private agencies,” he said, underlining a long-standing emphasis on cadre-based political intelligence.