YSRCP eyes Vijay's poll strategist Kapil Sahu ahead of 2029 battle

Kapil Sahu is credited with playing an important role in the campaign strategy of Tamil actor-turned-politician Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the principal Opposition party in Andhra Pradesh headed by former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, is likely to rope in political strategist Kapil Sahu as a key campaign strategist for the 2029 general elections, people familiar with the development said.

Kapil Sahu previously worked with I-PAC until 2024, before leaving the organisation with a 12-member team. (HT Photo)

Sahu, a former associate of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) founder-director Prashant Kishor, is credited with playing an important role in the campaign strategy of Tamil actor-turned-politician Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and helping him come to power in the recent Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

A senior YSRCP functionary, who refused to be quoted, said Jagan had held preliminary discussions with Sahu a few weeks ago on working out the strategy for the next elections in Andhra Pradesh.

“In fact, Jagan has held discussions, not only with Sahu, but a few other political strategists who approached him. He has not finalised anyone yet. But he was very much impressed by the preliminary presentation given by Sahu, but has not disclosed his mind yet,” the party functionary said.

Sahu previously worked with I-PAC until 2024, before leaving the organisation with a 12-member team and subsequently setting up his own political consulting team. He is understood to have worked with several political outfits in Delhi and Sikkim after his exit from I-PAC.

“His association with Vijay’s TVK brought him greater attention in political strategy circles. Sahu’s team worked on digital outreach, campaign messaging and public engagement initiatives aimed at expanding Vijay’s appeal among different sections of voters,” the YSRCP leader quoted above said.

Jagan has so far experimented with I-PAC under two different leaderships. Before the 2019 elections, it was Kishor who assisted the YSRCP.

His innovative campaign strategy and designing Jagan’s padayatra helped the YSRCP come to power in Andhra Pradesh with a resounding victory, winning 151 of the 175 Assembly seats in the State.

After Kishor moved away from the party, I-PAC was taken over by Rishiraj Singh, who continued the association with Jagan for the 2024 Assembly elections. Singh and his team were engaged in overseeing the functioning of the State administration, especially the village and ward secretariat systems.

There were allegations within the party that Singh had virtually dominated its organisational functioning and even played a key role in the selection of candidates.

Despite creating a massive hype for the YSRCP, Singh failed to repeat the magic of 2019, and the party faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government, winning just 11 seats. “Even after the defeat, Singh’s I-PAC continued to be associated with the YSRCP for a few months, before Jagan terminated the contract,” the party leader quoted above said.

The possible induction of Sahu is now being viewed within the party as another attempt to strengthen its campaign machinery and develop a long-term political strategy ahead of 2029.

Political analyst Ramu Suravajjula said Jagan definitely needed a political strategist to come back to power because he lacked direction and vision to combat the NDA government. Keeping the favourable conditions Jagan has now, engaging a strategist is a good idea in the right direction, he said.

“In the absence of a strong advisor, Jagan is often seen with confusing and conflicting statements of late. A strategist would help him in many ways, provided he listens to the ideas and follows them,” Suravajjula said.