TMC details extent of association with I-PAC amid rumours of fallout with Prashant Kishor

Amid rumours of a rift with poll strategist Prashant Kishor, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien revealed the extent of the Indian Political Action Committee's association with his party. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, he made a clear distinction between TMC and I-PAC stressing that the latter does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mamata Banerjee-led party. While O'Brien did not name Kishor, this was perceived as a reference to his recent interviews where he highlighted that an opposition alliance cannot be formed without taking Congress on board.

This comes even as TMC has slammed Congress for not playing an effective role in the opposition, inducted many of its leaders and even dismissed the notion that the United Progressive Alliance exists. TMC spokesperson Derek O'Brien affirmed, "TMC is the first political party who have hired I-PAC for five years and they have certain deliverables to do. I-PAC has reach-out on the ground, communication and social media. All this is evaluated by the national working committee chaired by Mamata Banerjee". 

Sources indicated that the TMC top brass is peeved at the fact that ex-Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma and former Goa CM Luizinho Falerio publicly mentioned that they joined the party at the request of Kishor. The I-PAC co-founder also came under fire recently for predicting that BJP will remain a dominant force in Indian politics for many decades. Speaking at an event in the Museum of Goa, he disagreed with the opposition's claim that the Narendra Modi-led government will be voted out of power in 2024 merely due to anti-incumbency. 

Prashant Kishor's pan-party influence

After gaining acclaim owing to his crucial role in BJP winning a majority on its own in the 2014 General election, Kishor's IPAC has run successful campaigns for AAP (2015 Delhi Assembly election), Mahagatbandhan (2015 Bihar Assembly election), Congress (2017 Punjab Assembly election), YSCRP (Andhra Pradesh Assembly election), DMK (Tamil Nadu Assembly election) and TMC (West Bengal Assembly election). However, he failed to propel the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance to victory in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh polls. On March 1, Prashant Kishor was appointed as Punjab CM Amarinder Singh's Principal Advisor.

While the poll strategist was tasked Congress' election campaign for the Punjab Assembly election due next year, he resigned from this post on August 5 itself citing that he wanted to take a "temporary break" from an active role in public life. This came in the wake of his decision to quit the political strategy space after the West Bengal Assembly polls. At present, he is reportedly helping TMC to make inroads in Goa ahead of the 2022 Assembly election besides playing a key role in its nationwide expansion.

(With PTI inputs)