BENGALURU: Polls strategist Sunil Kanugolu, who played a key role in the Congress party scripting a thumping win in the May 10 assembly election in Karnataka, was appointed chief adviser to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday.
Kanugolu was the brain behind the Congress party’s ‘PayCM’ campaign with a QR code, that took political circles by storm last September. Pitched on allegations of the State Contractors’ Association that MLAs and officials have to be paid 40 per cent commission to get work done, the campaign had targeted then chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.
It set the ball rolling for the Congress party to take forward the narrative on corruption as one of the key issues. Now, as CM’s chief adviser with cabinet rank, Kanugolu’s role, though undefined, is likely to have an impact on governance. Kanugolu, who had worked alongside noted poll strategist Prashant Kishore for the BJP during the 2014 LS polls, when Narendra Modi ran for Prime Minister, subsequently worked in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. In March 2022, he joined the Congress in New Delhi, and was eventually appointed head of the war room set up to steer the party in the assembly polls in Karnataka.
Now, he is also likely to work out strategies for Telangana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and the 2024 LS polls. Born in Ballari in Karnataka, Kanugolu is well-versed in Kannada. He was brought up in Chennai before he left for the US, where he obtained a postgraduate degree from New York. For nine months, he has been a resident of J P Nagar, Bengaluru.
Political secys appointed
The government has appointed MLCs K Govindaraju and Naseer Ahmed as political secretaries to the CM. Virajpet MLA A S Ponnanna is likely to be appointed legal adviser, according to sources.
Lobbying for the coveted posts of Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) chairman and Pollution Control Board (PCB) has started. The government is likely to placate former minister and Sira MLA T B Jayachandra, by appointing him state’s representative in New Delhi, so that he can follow up on projects and get clearance from the Centre, especially for irrigation projects. Jayachandra, who had rejected the Speaker’s post, has agreed to accept the post, sources told TNIE.
The names of former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and former minister Laxman Savadi for the post of deputy chairman of the State Planning Commission, are also doing the rounds. For appointments of academics, this time the government is likely to set up search committees to propose names, a source said.