Poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu likely to help Cong in Kerala for 2024 LS polls

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 4 (IANS) Poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu and his team are likely to help the Congress party in Kerala in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, sources have said.

The sources said that this was discussed during the brainstorming session in Delhi by the top Congress brass, both national and Kerala leaders.

In the 2019 general elections the Congress-led UDF had won 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala.

Sources in the party said that at the meeting Rahul Gandhi asked all the party leaders to ensure that there is unity in the party and nothing should be created to spoil the peace in the party.

One reason why Gandhi was specific about unity is that the party in Kerala has been riddled with factions.

party general secretary K.C. Venugopal, who is also the Organizational secretary, told the meeting that with the second term of the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s popularity is at its worst, the party is in a position to win all the 20 seats and all should strive towards that.

It’s reliably learned that Kanugolu and his team is expected to visit Kerala shortly for a preliminary study to chart out the strategies that should be exercised while campaigning and for that he will have to do a complete study on the performance of the Vijayan government.

Incidentally even though the Congress-led UDF won 19 out of the 20 Lok Sabha seats, midway the Kerala Congress (Mani), the erstwhile ally of the UDF, moved over to the ruling Left Front.

The Congress party in the past contested in 17 seats, the Indian Union Muslim League in two and the Kerala Congress (Mani) in one seat.

Now all eyes are on if the IUML gets one more seat, likewise the faction of the Kerala Congress (Mani), which remained with the UDF under veteran legislator P.J.Joseph,  has already send feelers they should be given one seat.

Even though it’s early days, Rahul Gandhi informed the meeting that the party is placing high hopes on Kerala and all leaders should ensure to put in their best.