Lucknow, Jan 8 (IANS) Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday contended that the BJP is staring at a defeat in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) being a clear indication of the party’s desperation.

“The BJP is badly losing Bengal. First proof!” Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X, responding to a post that highlighted the ED action in West Bengal even before the Assembly election process had formally begun.

Earlier in the day, the ED conducted raids at the Salt Lake Sector V office of I-PAC, the political consultancy firm that has been working with the Trinamool Congress since 2019. A special ED team from Delhi arrived in Kolkata to carry out the operation.

ED officials also searched the Loudon Street residence of I-PAC co-founder and director Pratik Jain, where the operation was conducted for several hours. Jain is one of the key figures associated with the organisation’s strategic planning for elections.

Following the raids, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally visited Jain’s residence in central Kolkata and later went to the I-PAC office, where she interacted with staff members. Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma also visited the residence during the operation.

According to the ED, the searches are linked to an old case registered in Delhi related to alleged coal smuggling. The agency claims that I-PAC’s name has surfaced in connection with certain financial transactions linked to the case.

The ED further said that the search operations were not linked to any election, refuting the claims of the Chief Minister linking the ED action with the forthcoming Assembly elections.

The sudden action reportedly caught the I-PAC team off guard, as the organisation is currently engaged in preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal. When the searches began early in the morning, only a handful of employees were present at the Salt Lake office, with a few staff members working the night shift.

Chief Minister Banerjee strongly criticised the ED action, alleging political vendetta and claiming that the raids were carried out at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Trinamool Congress has consistently accused central agencies of being misused to target opposition leaders and organisations ahead of elections.

The ED, however, maintains that the raids are part of an ongoing investigation and denies allegations of political motivation.

–IANS

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