I-PAC gets Trinamool contract till 2026, though Prashant Kishor may not be heading regular operations

The Trinamool Congress has extended its contract with election strategists Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), to 2026. The partnership led to a landslide victory for Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly polls leading to her return as the Bengal chief minister for a third term.

However, Prashant Kishor won’t be helming the regular operations of I-PAC for the extended contract with Trinamool Congress. It is not yet clear how this “new I-PAC” will function, but there are reports that a new nine-member team will be in charge. As per the new contract, I-PAC will be involved in all state elections till 2026, including panchayat and local body elections. This means that the next Assembly elections of 2026 will also come under its purview as well as the next Lok Sabha polls of 2024.

Over the next few years, there will be elections in key states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka too, And it is to be seen in which of these other state elections the Trinamool Congress participates in. As per the new Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, the party will expand to other states, and do so “not just to win a few seats” but “to become a political alternative in the state concerned.”

The Trinamool Congress won 213 of 292 seats in the Bengal Assembly polls. There are now talks that the Bengal CM is among the non-BJP leaders in calling for a united opposition to fight the ruling party at the Centre in Lok Sabha elections 2024.