Who is Sunil Kanugolu, the elusive poll strategist hired by Congress in Karnataka and Telangana?

Ahead of the Assembly elections in the coastal states of Karnataka and Telangana next year, the Congress party has shelved the rumours of Prashant Kishor strategising the polls for them and have joined hands with Sunil Kanugolu, the lesser known but equally effective poll strategist.

Kanugolu, who earlier worked with DMK, AIADMK and BJP, will work with Congress for the upcoming state elections. Sunil is expected to start his work from the Karnataka election and later handle every state election for Congress, according to a report by India Today.

Who is Sunil Kanugolu?

The name may appear new to some but Sunil Kanugolu has worked with national and regional political parties since as long as Prashant Kishor.

In a career spanning nearly a decade, Kanugolu has worked with more than a dozen chief ministers.

Now being seen as a Congress man, Kanugolu has previously been associated with the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 2017. At one point, he also headed the BJP’s personalised campaign organisation, the Association of Brilliant Minds (ABM).

According to a report by the Indian Express, Kanugolu also worked with Kishor during BJP’s 2014 campaign.

Kanugolu was hired as a personal pollster for Narendra Modi much before Prashant Kishor’s former organisation Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG) officially took charge of the BJP campaign.

After staying in the background for almost three years, Kanugolu returned to mainstream politics by taking over the election campaign for DMK chief and current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

As per the Indian Express, Kanugolu designed Stalin’s “Namakku Naame” campaign ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections. Even though the DMK failed in the elections, Kanugolu’s campaign helped elevate Stalin’s public image.

In October 2016, BJP tasked Kanugolu with forming an election consultancy firm that would rival Kishor’s I-PAC ahead of the UP Assembly elections 2017.

Kanugolu then set up and headed the ABM, with fellow poll strategist Himanshu Singh, and Gujarati businessman Deepak Patel.

Kanugolu broke away from the ABM in 2018, which has continued to strategise for the BJP.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the pollster returned to the DMK camp and helped the United Progressive Alliance win 38 of the state’s 39 parliamentary constituencies.

The Indian Express reported that he parted ways with the DMK ahead of last year’s Assembly elections after Stalin sought Kishor’s help.

According to The Print, Kanugolu has been engaged for 14 elections, of which nine have been for the BJP, two for the DMK and others for the Akali Dal, the AIADMK and now the Congress.

The elusive pollster

Unlike Kishor, who is known for being vocal about his political opinions on social media and otherwise, Kanugolu is known to be a recluse and has no official social media presence.

In fact, a random internet search does not yield even a single photograph that can be ascribed to him with certainty.

While Kishor can be seen talking to the media and giving exclusive interviews, Kanugolu restricts himself to the shadows from where he works best.

“The choice to stay away from the public glare perhaps boils down to two reasons. One, he comes from McKinsey — a firm that discourages employees from publicly sharing their views and opinions when it comes to firm and clients or politics,” a former colleague of Kanugolu told ThePrint.

“Secondly, as backroom strategists, our job is to let the client take credit and stand in the limelight and not put ourselves centrestage.”

The anonymity also gives Kanugolu freedom to conduct surveys more freely with unbiased results.

“Even if he walks into a room with aspiring candidates while conducting surveys for their selection, barely anyone can recognise him. That means less interference and attempt to influence results,” a source said, as reported by ThePrint. With inputs from agencies

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