The pungent and sharp attacks by newly-appointed Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y S Sharmila on the rival parties, particularly the YSR Congress party led by her brother Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, has surprised many analytics.
Though Sharmila is naturally very articulate and known for her aggressive talk, the way she has been attacking her brother right from the day one and launching a counter-attack on her critics has come as a big surprise to the people, leading to the suspicion that there is definitely someone behind her.
Enquiries revealed that it is noted political strategist Sunil Kanugolu of Mindshare Analytics, who is helping Sharmila in designing her publicity campaign and programmes.
The Congress in Andhra Pradesh, which had hitherto been in a state of limbo, has suddenly become very active after Sharmila took over as the APCC chief and it is largely due to the backroom work being done by Sunil Kanugolu team.
Sunil Kanugolu who had been pivotal in the Congress party’s election campaigns in Karnataka and Telangana and bringing the party to victory in the last assembly elections, has now been hired by the APCC led by Sharmila for the upcoming elections.
There were reports that Kanugolu has refused to work the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, but sources said he had given a broad strategy for the party for the LS polls and delegated a small team to work for the party in Telangana.
The Congress high command has apparently asked Kanugolu to extend his services to Sharmila and design her campaign strategy.
Though she might not achieve victories for a few MLAs, Kanugolu team has been asked to see that the party is revived after the 2024 elections.
Kanugolu, a Telugu speaking native of Ballari in Karnataka, has now been elevated to the role of Chief Advisor to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
A postgraduate degree holder from New York University, Kanugolu now resides in Bengaluru, where he has been carving out a successful career as a political consultant over the past decade.
He was earlier associated with the Association of Brilliant Minds (ABM), an organisation that pioneered relentless election strategies for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He was part of Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), a group brought together by renowned poll strategist, Prashant Kishor, to propel Narendra Modi’s prime-ministerial campaign in 2014.
Because his association with Modi predates the formation of CAG, Kanugolu’s shift from the position as an architect of the BJP’s poll strategies to joining Congress in 2022 was surprising to many in the political sphere – especially after Prashant Kishor’s unsuccessful attempt at working with the Congress.
