India National Congress decisively defeated the BJP in Karnataka, capturing a majority on its own with victories in 136 of the state's 224 seats. The result is a huge boost for the Congress party, which is now in control of four states ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Congress states this win as the victory of the poor over crony capitalists. However, political strategist Sunil Kanugolu, often known as the "man of ideas," is the brains behind Congress' success. According to reports, he will now take the reins of the party's electoral management initiatives for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
कांग्रेस पार्टी को ऐतिहासिक जनादेश देने के लिए कर्नाटका की जनता को तहे दिल से धन्यवाद। ये आपके मुद्दों की जीत है। ये कर्नाटका की प्रगति के विचार को प्राथमिकता देने की जीत है। ये देश को जोड़ने वाली राजनीति की जीत है।
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) May 13, 2023
कर्नाटका कांग्रेस के तमाम मेहनती कार्यकर्ताओं व नेताओं को मेरी…
मैं कर्नाटक की जनता, कर्नाटक में कांग्रेस पार्टी के कार्यकर्ताओं और पार्टी के सब नेताओं को बधाई देता हूं। कर्नाटक के चुनाव में एक तरफ क्रोनी कैपिटलिस्ट की ताकत थी, दूसरी तरफ जनता की ताकत थी और जनता ने इन्हें हरा दिया।
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 13, 2023
हमने प्यार और मोहब्बत से यह लड़ाई लड़ी। कर्नाटक की जनता… pic.twitter.com/pYbhxlKrsc
Who is Sunil Kanugolu?
Sunil Kanugolu was born in Karnataka's Ballari district. He spent his early days here and then relocated to Chennai before moving to Bengaluru, according to The Quint.
According to a Congress insider who spoke to NDTV, Kanugolu's greatest asset is his capacity to develop close relationships with the party's key leaders. "He has a quiet yet forceful personality. Politicians regard him greatly because of his low-key profile, sincerity, and data-oriented field surveys."
Sunil Kanugolu was formerly a member of Prashant Kishor's team, which played an important role in the 2014 election campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Additionally, he also played a crucial role in the BJP's successful election campaigns in a number of states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka.
He has also worked for DMK and AIADMK. According to local media, he was also responsible for the Dravidian model and elements of Tamil pride during the Jallikattu demonstrations of 2017, supporting the DMK in its fight against the aggressive BJP.
The Association of Brilliant Minds (ABM), which served as the BJP's campaign organisation for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections, was created by Kanugolu. According to party sources, he is known to have worked for the BJP in UP and is thought to have been vital to the party's overwhelming victory in the 2017 elections.
Sunil Kanugolu with Congress
On April 26 of last year, Prashant Kishor turned down the Congress' proposal to join the party, and Sunil Kanugolu was hired to assist with the party's election strategy for several elections around India. He was on board in May of last year to be part of Task Force 2024, including P Chidambaram, Mukul Wasnik, Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal, Ajay Maken, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Randeep Singh Surjewala to carry out the Nav Sankalp (New Resolution) declaration that was adopted in Udaipur.
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, a march that spanned more than 4,000 km from the southernmost point of India to Jammu and Kashmir, has also been the idea of the poll strategist, Sunil Kanugolu.
What was his strategy for Karnataka Elections?
Party leaders claim that Kanugolu, who is generally quiet and remains backstage, created a plan for each Assembly seat in the southern state. His plan was to corner the BJP and JD(S) to prevent a triangular Karnataka election, which turned out successful for the party. He and his team consistently provided all the candidates with factual backing in order to refute the accusations made by the opposing parties.
He was in charge of the Congress's anti-BJP campaigns, which included the publishing of the rate card, the pay-CM, the 40% commission sarkar, and the "cryPM" at the close of the campaign after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called out Modi for insulting her family personally while also referring to insults levelled against him by other party officials.
Following his outstanding contribution in the Karnataka assembly election, Kanugolu is rumoured to be in Madhya Pradesh. He will be responsible for all the plans and preparation for the state's election scheduled for the end of the year, according to a report from the news agency PTI.
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation