The Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), led by Rishi Raj Singh, which played spoilsport with the chances of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, has once again failed in the recent Delhi assembly elections.
After taking over I-PAC from renowned strategist Prashant Kishor a few years ago, Rishi Raj Singh and his team have failed in most of the states where they offered their services to political parties, such as the Trinamool Congress in Goa and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Haryana.
In the recent Delhi assembly elections, Rishi’s team joined hands with the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, taking advantage of I-PAC’s successful consultancy with Kejriwal in the 2020 polls, where AAP won 62 out of 70 seats. However, it was Prashant Kishor who led I-PAC during that period.
In the 2019 Andhra Pradesh elections, Prashant Kishor was instrumental in helping the YSRCP achieve a landslide victory over the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Although Rishi Raj Singh did groundwork for the YSRCP before the 2019 polls, it was under Prashant Kishor’s guidance.
Problems began when Rishi Raj Singh took complete control of I-PAC. Jagan believed he could repeat the 2019 success in the 2024 elections, but Rishi’s strategies backfired. His team failed to gauge the strong undercurrent of anti-incumbency against the YSRCP.
Analysts say that in Delhi, too, Rishi’s team repeated the same outdated strategy that failed in Andhra Pradesh. Ignoring ground realities, I-PAC focused on promoting Kejriwal’s freebies and welfare schemes, just as it did for Jagan’s party in AP.
When Rishi took charge of AAP’s campaign strategy for the recent Delhi elections, he announced that I-PAC would focus on content development, social media campaigns, and streamlining volunteer deployment.
Unlike in 2020, when Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC helped AAP launch the AAP Ka Report Card campaign, delivering it to voters’ doorsteps, holding town hall meetings with news channels, and organizing mohalla sabhas, Rishi’s team failed to introduce any innovative strategies to counter the BJP’s campaign accusing Kejriwal of corruption.
In the end, I-PAC could not even ensure the victory of key AAP leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, let alone secure a third consecutive win for the party!
