Congress, the grand old party, marked a strong comeback in Karnataka following its thumping victory in the assembly elections. The party won 135 seats out of 224, an undebatable win. While there may be an array of factors that helped nudge things in the way of Congress, the part played by the party’s poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu was instrumental.
Kanugolu, brought into the Congress fold in May last year, was responsible for preparing surveys, campaigning, deciding candidates, and winning strategy in Karnataka, which played a crucial role in the party's performance in recently concluded polls. He was appointed as a member of Task Force 2024, a team crafted by Congress to implement the Udaipur Nav Sankalp (New Resolution) declaration.
Kanugolu was also responsible for supporting Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi, which kick-started from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari on September 7 last year. The yatra is said to have played a monumental role in the party’s victory in the state. The so-called ‘man of ideas’ has also been entrusted to oversee the party’s efforts in gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Who is the man behind the scene?
Born in Karnataka's Ballari district, Sunil Kanugolu completed his middle school education in his hometown and lived in Chennai for a while before relocating to Bengaluru, as reported by The Quint.
He has previously worked for parties including BJP, DMK, and AIADMK.
His strategy in Karnataka was to corner the BJP and JD(S) so that the contest does not become triangular and it worked in favour of the party. He and his team continuously gave support to all the candidates with facts to counter the charges of the other parties. “Staying away from polarising rhetoric and focusing on development, anti-corruption, and inefficiency of the incumbent government did the trick,” a Congress source told The Quint.
According to party leaders, Kanugolu was responsible for Congress campaigns against the BJP like the release of the rate card, pay-CM, 40 per cent commission sarkar and at the end of the campaign 'cryPM' after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra targeted Modi for personal attacks on her family while counting abuses on him by other party leaders.
According to reports, the highly sought-after pollster had founded the Association of Brilliant Minds (ABM), which was BJP's campaign body for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections.
Kanugolu, who had earlier worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the BJP's campaign, had also worked with election strategist Prashant Kishor in 2014 before parting ways. He had worked for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and is said to have played a key role in the resounding victory of Yogi Adityanath in 2017.
Following the victory in Karnataka, the Congress has now tasked Kanugolu for Madhya Pradesh, where the party even after winning in the 2018 Assembly polls lost power in 2020 after a rebellion by Jyotidaritya Scindia, a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi.
(With inputs from IANS)
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks