“We are a political party, and the I-PAC is our political ally,” says Derek O’Brien.
In an apparent distance between the Trinamool Congress and political consultancy group I-PAC founder Prashant Kishor, senior party leader Derek O’Brien said that the I-PAC was a political ally apart from a political party.
Mr Kishor is campaigning for an anti-BJP front, not necessarily led by the Congress. Mr O’Brien said the I-PAC had some “deliverables” and was mandated by the Trinamool Congress to do certain things, which they were doing very well.
“We are a political party and they” [I-PAC] We have political allies,” Mr. O’Brien told reporters in Delhi, drawing a clear binary between the two. Mr. Kishor founded the I-PAC, but since the Trinamool’s victory in West Bengal in May 2021, he Claimed to have resigned from the organization.
Mr O’Brien said the Trinamool is the only party that has signed a long-term agreement with I-PAC. Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Trinamool had signed a five-year agreement with the I-PAC.
“I-PAC has a role to play in reaching the grassroots, communicating, strategizing, etc. But it must be remembered that the 21-member Trinamool Working Committee makes the final decision,” Mr. O’Brien said.
Trinamool is in the process of changing the constitution of the party to give President Mamata Banerjee veto power to overrule any decision taken by the working committee.
The party is angered by comments from several newcomers like former Meghalaya Congress leader Mukul Sangma and Goa leader Luizinho Faleiro, who credited Mr Kishor for switching to Trinamool. The party was comfortable as long as he was the guy in the back room, but not ready to accept him as the face of the party.
According to informed sources, Mr Kishor’s inputs for the party’s strategy were ignored ahead of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections. Mr Kishor’s comments against the Congress also left the Trinamool uneasy.
Mr O’Brien said the Trinamool’s expansion plans were only for states where opposition to the ruling BJP was weak. “So the Trinamool will not go to Tamil Nadu where DMK is a major force or Maharashtra where Shivsena and NCP are there,” he said.
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