Days after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, a section of Trinamool Congress leaders appears to be searching for a scapegoat, with many blaming political consultancy firm I-PAC for the setback.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha chief whip Kalyan Banerjee has pointed out that dependency on I-PAC had cost the party this election. “I-PAC has completely destroyed the Trinamool Congress organisation. Abhishek’s (party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee) full dependency on I-PAC has not been accepted,” Mr. Banerjee said in an interview with Anandbazar Online.
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The Trinamool Congress’ association with I-PAC started ahead of the 2021 Assembly election, when the firm was roped in to shape the party’s campaign. Riding on the successful campaign projecting Mamata Banerjee as Bengal’s daughter, the Trinamool Congress won 215 seats in the 294-member Assembly. I-PAC also helped the party win 29 of West Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general election.
Riju Dutta, former party spokesperson, who was recently suspended, also blamed the consultancy firm for the defeat. “I-PAC had been running the party for the past six months. Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and Abhishek Banerjee should take responsibility,” Mr. Dutta said.
