Bengaluru: Sunil Kunagolu, the mastermind behind Congress’ victory in Karnataka, is the star of this strategy. Except for the coast where the lotus bloomed, the entire state is full of Congress.
The Congress secured good number of seats in Kittur Karnataka but got less in Kalyana Karnataka. In Central Karnataka, Malenadu, and Old Mysuru, Congress performed well. Sunil Kunagolu’s strategy is behind this big victory of Congress. His mastermind has worked in state politics so that the entire state Congress can celebrate.
Conventions and rallies are at one side, while the digital sector is on another side. The BJP IT Cell has launched massive campaigns to boost the party’s image. Until now, the state Congress struggled to counter the BJP’s strategy, but it has jumped up with Pay CM campaign. The entire Congress party’s election campaign started with this campaign, and the credit goes to Sunil Kunagolu.
This time, except for a few seats, the Karnataka Congress finalised the candidates mostly based on the survey conducted by Sunil Kunagolu’s team. The team also advised against making personal criticism against Modi and not bringing the Hindu-Muslim issue to the fore. Additionally, the team informed that the competition of Congress in some 70 seats is only for namesake. The success of all this has now been achieved.
The campaign to challenge the BJP Government by thinking of IT hub, Bengaluru has been hugely appreciated. Congress opposed the State Government by changing the name of a famous digital wallet company. The Congress, which was failing to reach out to the people saw great success through Pay CM. Before that, the Congress party had launched the ‘do you have answer’ campaign. After that, 40% commission of the government was campaigned by the Congress. The PayCM campaign was successful and reached the people effectively.
Who is Sunil Kanugolu?
Despite being on the social media strategy team, Kanugolu does not have any social media accounts. Although he has worked with Prashant Kishore, their working styles are different. While Prashant often expresses his opinion, Sunil does not hesitate to do so. Both had worked together in 2014 before parting ways. Earlier this year, the Congress hired Kanugolu’s company Mindshare Analytics for next year’s elections.
Congress had hired an election strategist in March last year, and two months later, Sonia Gandhi appointed Sunil Kunagolu as a member of the party’s 2024 Lok Sabha election task force. Sunil Kunagolu, played a key role in Narendra Modi’s election campaign in 2014. He served as ABM Chief of BJP and played a crucial role in BJP’s election campaigns in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka, leading to the party’s victory.
A native of Karnataka, Kunagolu grew up in Chennai. He is credited with planning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The Yatra helped the Congress to connect with the people ahead of the crucial elections. Sunil Kanugolu’s main agenda is to restore the political future of the Congress in Telangana, retain the Congress government in the upcoming elections in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, lead the Congress to victory in Madhya Pradesh, and most importantly, make the Congress a strong and winnable contender against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.