Trinamool MP Saayoni Ghosh flags I-PAC dominance, admits party communication gap
Synopsis
A sitting Trinamool MP has done what party insiders rarely do publicly — admitted that I-PAC’s growing clout created a communication breakdown inside the party. Saayoni Ghosh’s candid remarks, coming after a fresh electoral setback, put the spotlight squarely on whether TMC’s dependence on external poll consultants has hollowed out its own organisational machinery.
Key Takeaways
Saayoni Ghosh , Trinamool Congress MP, acknowledged a ‘growing dominance’ of I-PAC that caused a ‘communication gap’ within the party.
Ghosh said I-PAC ‘could not deliver’ in the latest elections, despite performing well in 2021 and 2024 .
She called for ‘self-introspection’ by both I-PAC and the All India Trinamool Congress .
Ghosh dismissed talk of internal conflict as post-defeat grievance-airing, saying concerns should have been raised earlier.
She reported an alleged death threat from a BJP leader to Kolkata Police , accusing the party of normalising hate against women.
Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh on Wednesday, 20 May acknowledged a “growing dominance” of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) within the party, saying it had created a “communication gap” — remarks that come in the immediate aftermath of the Trinamool’s poor electoral showing in West Bengal. Ghosh, a youth leader and sitting MP, was responding to questions about I-PAC’s role and reports of internal friction inside the party.
Ghosh on I-PAC’s declining performance
The Trinamool leader offered a measured but pointed assessment of the poll strategy firm. “I-PAC worked really well in 2021 and had delivered good results in 2024 as well. But this time, it has not been able to deliver,” she said. She added that both I-PAC and the Trinamool Congress needed to undertake “self-introspection.”
“It is true that I-PAC’s dominance was increasing and somewhere a communication gap got created,” Ghosh said, while also maintaining that the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) remains a “very democratic party.”
On internal conflict allegations
Ghosh pushed back against narratives of deep-seated internal conflict, saying she had personally not faced any such situation. “Being a youth leader, I have always ensured to maintain a balance between my office, the youth workers and the party leaders,” she said. She noted that despite coming from a non-political background, she had received strong support from both party workers and leadership.
However, she was candid about the timing of grievances now surfacing publicly. “If people had such grievances, they could have said it before. Today after the party could not perform well, people are coming on television and saying such things,” she said, pointedly.
Death threat from BJP leader
Ghosh also addressed an alleged death threat she received from a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, accusing the party of normalising violence and hate against women. “If, despite being an MP, I have to go through this, then citizens need to see how safe women are in the country,” she said.
She attributed the threat to her consistent role as a voice of dissent. “Probably because I have always been a voice of dissent, both inside and outside Parliament… the BJP does not like the voice of dissent,” she said. Ghosh confirmed she has filed a formal complaint with the Kolkata Police.
What this signals for TMC
Ghosh’s remarks are among the most direct public acknowledgements by a sitting Trinamool MP of structural problems in the party’s campaign machinery. The admission that I-PAC’s growing footprint created communication bottlenecks — rather than streamlining outreach — will likely intensify the internal debate over the firm’s continued role. This comes amid broader questions about whether the Trinamool’s reliance on external political consultants has come at the cost of grassroots party organisation. How the leadership responds to these public admissions will be closely watched in the weeks ahead.
Point of View
But for who is saying them — a sitting TMC MP publicly flagging that a third-party consultant firm had more operational sway inside the party than its own elected representatives. The I-PAC question has long been whispered in Trinamool corridors; it is now on the record. What mainstream coverage misses is the structural tension this exposes: when a party outsources its political intelligence to a consultancy, it risks losing the feedback loops that only organic cadre networks provide. The timing — post-defeat, on camera — also suggests that internal pressure on the leadership to recalibrate the I-PAC arrangement is building faster than the party may want to admit.
NationPress
5 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Saayoni Ghosh say about I-PAC and Trinamool Congress?
Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh said that I-PAC’s dominance within the party had been increasing and that it created a communication gap. She added that both I-PAC and the Trinamool needed to do self-introspection after the party’s poor electoral performance.
How did I-PAC perform in recent elections according to Ghosh?
Ghosh said I-PAC performed well in the 2021 West Bengal elections and delivered good results in 2024, but ‘this time, it has not been able to deliver.’ She did not specify the exact election cycle she was referring to beyond this characterisation.
What is the death threat controversy involving Saayoni Ghosh?
Ghosh alleged she received a death threat from a BJP leader and has filed a complaint with the Kolkata Police. She accused the BJP of normalising hate and crimes against women, saying the threat was likely linked to her role as a vocal critic inside and outside Parliament.
Did Saayoni Ghosh deny internal conflict in Trinamool?
Ghosh said she personally had not experienced internal conflict, and that her communication channels within the party were always open. However, she acknowledged that party leaders airing grievances publicly after an electoral loss should have raised their concerns earlier.
What does I-PAC do for Trinamool Congress?
The Indian Political Action Committee is an election strategy and political consulting firm that has worked with the Trinamool Congress on campaign planning and voter outreach. It gained prominence after managing TMC’s 2021 West Bengal assembly election campaign.
