Is Prashant Kishor still with I-PAC? ED raids amid TMC showdown turn spotlight on Jan Suraaj founder

A Trinamool Congress leader on Friday alleged that by 'leaving out' Prashant Kishor, Enforcement Directorate had shown whose interests it was serving. He was refering to the central agency conducting searches at the office of the political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata on Thursday.

“The ED complaints date back to 2020. Who was at the help of I-PAC then? It is Prashant Kishor. Then why is Pratik Jain being targeted by ED and not Kishor?,” Arup Chakraborty, TMC spokesperson said.

The ED action ignited high drama, with TMC supremeo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee unexpectedly storming into the sites during raids, alleging that the central agency was trying to seize her sensitive data ahead of the high-stakes state polls.

"The answer is simple. Jain is now helping TMC with its party strategy. And Kishor with its Jan Suraaj party in Bihar divided the opposition votes, which helped the BJP," 'The ED complaint refers to events that took place in Goa, when Kishor was leading I-PAC,' Arup added.

Is Prashant Kishor, one of the co-founders, still associated with I-PAC? Well, after the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Kishor exited I-PAC. “He worked as a consultant. He had no associations with the company formaly after 2021,” said a former I-PAC member who did not want to be named.

After PK left, three directors — Pratik Jain, Rishi Raj Singh and Vinesh Chandel – have been overseeing the functioning of I-PAC.

In a strong rebuttal, the ED, which maintained that the searches were part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam, accused Banerjee of obstructing a lawful investigation and claimed that she and the state police forcibly removed "key evidence" during the raids.

The confrontation, which unfolded at a politically combustible moment, added sharp electoral overtones ahead of the elections to the 294-member West Bengal

Assembly, to be held in less than three months, as both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP were locked in an aggressive battle for narrative control.

The standoff also soon took a legal turn, with the ED moving the Calcutta High Court, seeking permission to file a petition, alleging interference in its investigation. The I-PAC also approached the HC, opposing the searches and questioning its legality.

I-PAC, apart from offering political consultancy to the TMC, also manages the party’s IT and media operations, making the search especially sensitive in the run-up to elections.

Since then, Prashant Kishor has largely been silent with uncertainty surrounding his future political involvement.

(With agency inputs)

TMC's has reportedly had an at-odds relationship with Kishor since 2021 but the party never spoke against him directly .

Banerjee referred to Kishor briefly in her speck on Friday at Hazra crossing "When Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, I-PAC worked for him. Back then, Prashant Kishor was there, Now Prashant is not there, Pratik oversees it, the CM said.