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Kanugolu: The mastermind behind Congress’ revival in Karnataka
Sunil Kanugolu, a skilled strategist renowned for his captivating campaigns, led the Congress party’s campaign ahead of the election.
In the last week of February 2022, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called for a meeting of around 20 senior leaders, including Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.
The meeting came amid a raging controversy in the state over barring Muslim girls wearing hijab from entering schools and colleges. The Congress’s central leadership and its state unit had been treading cautiously on the issue. It was expected that the meeting would revolve around the same and that a discussion on the strategy for the assembly elections would take place there.
But in the meeting, Gandhi introduced a man in his early 40s, dressed in a plain shirt and wearing glasses. “He was introduced as Sunil Kanugolu. He said he would lead the strategy for the elections, and we were told to cooperate with him. Many senior leaders were taken aback,” said a leader privy to the details of the meeting.
Two months later, Kanugolu, a highly sought-after pollster who had been part of the BJP’s campaign for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections and the 2018 Karnataka elections, joined the Congress and was announced as the chief election strategist.
One of his first assignments after joining the party was to prepare for Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in the latter part of 2022. “It was his idea that Rahul Gandhi should connect with different sections of society during the yatra,” said a senior party leader. The Yatra helped the Congress to reconnect with the masses.
Along with the yatra, Kanugolu was assigned the foremost task of winning his home state of Karnataka and reviving the party in neighbouring Telangana. He is also part of the party’s campaign strategy for Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, the three states going to polls in December this year.
He tasted success in Karnataka, with party leaders attributing the Congress party’s triumph in the Karnataka election to a well-executed campaign strategy, a multitude of public rallies countering rival narratives, and data-based ticket distribution and effective campaign management on the ground. “He was the man behind it and also ensured that the rivalry between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar gets buried, and sometimes, he used his direct access to the top party leadership to quell any fights between the two spilling onto the streets,” a senior central Congress leader said.
Sunil Kanugolu, a skilled strategist renowned for his captivating campaigns, led the Congress party’s campaign ahead of the election. Kanugolu played a crucial role in branding and providing speech guidance to Siddaramaiah before the Karnataka elections, said party leaders.
The most notable strategy was the “40% Sarkara” campaign. The Congress, previously seen as a tired and unenthusiastic opposition, launched the campaign after Kanugolu took over. The jibe referred to allegations by the Karnataka Contractors’ Association, claiming that the then-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and officials take 40% of the tender amount as a bribe for state-funded infrastructure projects.
According to party leaders, Kanugolu was also instrumental in starting the “PayCM” campaign, which is a wordplay on the digital payments firm PayTM. The campaign visuals featured CM Bommai’s face in the middle of a QR code, which redirected readers to a page listing corruption case involving the BJP, including the death of a contractor who alleged that former minister KS Eshwarappa demanded a bribe from him in April 2020.
“The posters of PayCM and the idea of the scam code directing to a website showcasing all the scams took off. Many leaders have held press conferences on these issues to claim it was their idea, but it was Kanugolu’s agency that came up with it. The 40% Sarkara and PayCM became household names,” said a Karnataka
A senior leader clarified that Kanugolu was not closely associated with any leaders in the party, and most of the assessments were based on data. While some of his suggestions, particularly in candidate selection, were overturned, the majority were accepted. “When he was introduced to the party, he was close to the Gandhis and had worked closely with (Randeep) Surjewala and KC Venugopal. His collaboration with Siddaramaiah is presumed to have developed during the campaign,” the leader added.
According to insiders, Siddaramaiah personally requested Kanugolu’s appointment to the position of chief minister’s adviser. An official order formalizing the appointment, which may grant the poll strategist a cabinet rank, has been initiated but has yet to be officially shared.
Despite operating from Bengaluru, Sunil Kanugolu has diverse regional connections. His father is from Karnataka, making him a Kannadiga, while his mother has Telugu heritage. He holds an undergraduate degree in engineering, followed by two postgraduate degrees—a Master of Science in Finance and an MBA. Since his return to India in 2009, his professional focus has predominantly centred on election-related activities.
In 2016, Kanugolu’s company, Mindspace Analytics, played a pivotal role in devising the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) campaign strategy in Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, in 2019, he closely collaborated with Amit Shah. During the same year, Kanugolu managed the Lok Sabha campaign for the DMK.
His association with the top Congress leadership began after facing resistance within the party regarding the induction of his former boss, Prashant Kishor, as the general secretary in charge of the campaign following the party’s disappointing performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Kanugolu was part of Kishor’s team that spearheaded the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2014 Lok Sabha campaign.
According to a party leader familiar with the developments, the party was searching for an election strategist who could comprehend survey data and create campaigns based on them. Kanugolu, who maintains a low-profile and refrains from speaking to the media unlike Kishor, was involved in preparing for state polls. “Although the party did not achieve much success in the state polls, they appreciated his work culture and decided to induct him in 2022,” said a senior Congress leader, adding that he played a crucial role in establishing campaign groups in various states.
Sunil Kanugolu did not respond to calls and messages seeking his comments for the profile. Party leaders mentioned that he has been tasked with preparing for the second leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from east to west and gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “He is also contributing his insights to the efforts to forge a united opposition against the BJP in 2024,” stated a party leader.
