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Two months ago, dozens of Congress ticket aspirants were waiting in the lobby of Bengaluru’s famed, 150-year-old Taj West End hotel to plead for their Assembly tickets. AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala was staying there.
A spectacled, bearded man in his early 40s, with unkempt hair and rolled up sleeves, parked his old car and casually walked through the lobby of the hotel to meet Surjewala without attracting attention of those waiting. This was Sunil Kanugolu, Congress’s chief election strategist, who was going to decide their fate.
It is his style. No airs, no media, no photos, no big talk, no hangers-on, almost a recluse, Kanugolu has emerged as one of the most influential figures in the Congress, directly advising AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on matters of elections.
On Saturday, after the Congress win in the most important state of Karnataka, Kanugolu, not a man of exuberance, kept his emotions in check and received the congratulatory messages with a polite ‘thank you’, nodding his head. There was not even a trace of ego.
It was his best performance because he made a switch from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the Congress last year, shocking the saffron party leadership in New Delhi. He even joined the Congress as its strategy department head, starting his work with his home state of Karnataka. He had to win this election to silence his detractors and occupy a much larger role in the days to come.
BHARAT JODO TO DKS-SIDDARAMAIAH UNITY
When Kanugolu joined the Congress, the election preparations were underway, but it was directionless, with different factions fighting for a bigger say. With full backing of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, he took ownership of the elections and assembled a team of poll experts to dislodge the BJP government in Karnataka.
An alarmed chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, who personally owes a lot to Kanugolu, tried his best to get him back into the BJP’s fold. But he declined the request and made it clear that he believes in the Congress’s ideology.
He is also credited with strategising Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
He even brought the two factions led by Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar together to present a unified vision for the Karnataka Congress.
‘WORKED 20 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK TO STOP BJP’
According to him, he worked 20 hours a day, seven days a week to stop the BJP in its tracks. Being a recluse helped him immensely, as he could avoid the temptation of being heard or seen in public.
“It has always helped me. My style is simple. We have to win. I need no publicity or laurels. Those who matter know who I am. I am not worried about the others," he said.
A man of principles and integrity, he can withstand any situation and is known to be fair in his judgement.
With this spectacular win, Kanugolu has climbed up the ranks in the party and will play a bigger role in the Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Assembly elections due in winter this year.
If he wins some of them, he will ride into the Parliamentary elections with a powerful strategy to counter the Modi-centric BJP.
#WATCH | Senior leader Siddaramaiah enjoys his cup of coffee as Congress crosses halfway mark in latest leads Track LIVE updates: https://t.co/BumLLDAKlQ#ResultsWithNews18 #KarnatakaPolls #KarnatakaElectionResults #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/cssVjozvc2
— News18 (@CNNnews18) May 13, 2023
NATIVE OF BELLARY
Kanugolu is a native of Bellary in Karnataka. He hails from a well-known family there. Born and brought up in Chennai, he did his higher studies from the USA and was with a global management consulting firm McKinsey.
After returning to India, he got involved in political strategies in Gujarat and led the Association of Billion Minds (ABM). He was also one of the key strategists for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Kanugolu handled the highly successful BJP campaign in the UP Assembly polls in early 2017.
He was associated with MK Stalin and oversaw its ‘Namakku Naame’ (We are for Ourselves) campaign during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The DMK-led alliance won 38 of the total 39 Parliament seats in that election.
After his one-time colleague Prashant Kishor of IPAC joined the DMK camp to strategise the campaign, he left the Stalin camp and moved to Bengaluru.
Speaking to News18, Kanugolu expressed his desire to take a break from the routine election strategies for some time. But, then TN CM EPS persuaded him to advise him on government policies and elections. With his work, EPS could win 75 seats in the 2021 TN Assembly elections.
I'm invincibleI'm so confident
Yeah, I'm unstoppable today ???? pic.twitter.com/WCfUqpNoIl
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 13, 2023
CLIMBING UP THE LADDER
Kanugolu, an introvert, listens more and talks less. A sharp planner and executor, he is ruthless when it comes to work.
Last year, a leading English newspaper had carried a picture of his brother, thinking it was Kanugolu !
A man of culture, he believes in long-lasting relationships and walks the extra mile to help his friends in need. A foodie, whom his close friends jokingly call a “militant meat-eater", Kanugolu loves carefree evenings with them. He also stays away from political skullduggery and lobbying for anyone. A man of few words with lot of experience, knowledge and achievements, Kanugolu has come a long way in just 10 years.
In the run-up to the polls, the most common K factors being mentioned were Kittur and Kalyana Karnataka. However, the lesser-known Kanugolu is who helped the Congress recapture the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.
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