TMC minister says I-PAC used his social media handle for campaign without his knowledge

West Bengal minister Chandrima Bhattacharya has made an explosive claim. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader has accused political advisor I-PAC of making social media posts using his handle without his knowledge.

Minister of State (MoS) in CM Mamata Banerjee’s government Chandrima Bhattacharya alleged that her social media handle was used to endorse “one man one post”.

In response to the allegations, I-PAC issued a statement saying, “I-PAC does not handle any digital assets.
@AITCofficial or any of its leaders. Anyone making such a claim is either uninformed or is openly lying.”

The statement further said, “AITC should look into whether their digital assets and/or the assets of their leaders are being “allegedly (mis)used”.

Members of TMC Youth Wing and TMC Social Media Cell shared social media posts titled “#IsupportOnePersonOnePost” to show solidarity with Abhishek Banerjee late last evening.

Sources in TMC’s youth wing have confirmed that the posts were part of a “semi-spontaneous” campaign. A member of the youth wing said, “Anyone who supports the changes brought in by Abhishek Banerjee is free to upload it and express solidarity.”

In a phone conversation with India Today, Chandrima Bhattacharya said that Mamata Banerjee has the last say in Trinamool Congress.

The TMC leader told India Today that she supports fellow minister Firhad Hakim’s statement condemning social media posts by several young TMC leaders.

Sources say that the political advisor IPAC will soon issue a statement denying his role and responding to the allegations leveled by Chandrima Bhattacharya.

Prashant Kishor, who was earlier in the IPAC and is considered close to the TMC leadership, is also trying to defuse the situation.

Chandrima Bhattacharya is the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Urban Development and Urban Affairs and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Land and Land Reforms and Refugee Resettlement.

The I-PAC, on the other hand, was imposed by the TMC during the West Bengal Assembly elections last year. Trinamool Congress and IPAC had also signed an agreement, allowing TMC to take services of IPAC in any state where it wants to expand its footprint.