YSRCP weighs Kapil Sahu for 2029 campaign strategy
HYDERABAD: The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the principal Opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, is likely to rope in political strategist Kapil Sahu as a key campaign strategist for the 2029 general elections, people familiar with the development said, as reported by HT.
Sahu, a former associate of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) founder-director Prashant Kishor, played an important role in the campaign strategy of Tamil actor-turned-politician Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). TVK won 108 of the 234 seats in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
A senior YSRCP functionary said party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held preliminary discussions with Sahu a few weeks ago on the strategy for the next elections in Andhra Pradesh.
“In fact, Jagan has held discussions, not only with Sahu, but a few other political strategists who approached him. He has not finalised anyone yet. But he was very much impressed by the preliminary presentation given by Sahu, but has not disclosed his mind yet,” the party functionary said.
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Sahu worked with I-PAC until 2024. He later left the organisation with a 12-member team and set up his own political consulting firm. He is understood to have worked with several political outfits in Delhi and Sikkim since leaving I-PAC.
His association with Vijay’s TVK brought him greater attention in political strategy circles. Sahu’s team worked on digital outreach, campaign messaging and public engagement initiatives to expand Vijay’s appeal among different sections of voters, the YSRCP leader said.
Jagan has worked with I-PAC under two different leaderships. Before the 2019 elections, Kishor assisted the YSRCP.
Kishor’s campaign strategy and the design of Jagan’s padayatra helped the YSRCP come to power in Andhra Pradesh. The party won 151 of the 175 Assembly seats in the state.
After Kishor moved away from the party, I-PAC came under the leadership of Rishiraj Singh. Singh continued the association with Jagan for the 2024 Assembly elections.
Singh and his team oversaw the functioning of the state administration, particularly the village and ward secretariat systems. Party leaders also alleged that Singh had significant influence over organisational matters and candidate selection.
The YSRCP mounted a strong campaign in 2024 but could not repeat its 2019 performance. The party lost to the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition and won just 11 seats.
“Even after the defeat, Singh’s I-PAC continued to be associated with the YSRCP for a few months, before Jagan terminated the contract,” the party leader said.
Party sees Sahu as option to strengthen campaign machinery
The possible induction of Sahu could help the YSRCP strengthen its campaign machinery and build a long-term political strategy ahead of 2029.
Political analyst Ramu Suravajjula said Jagan needed a political strategist to return to power because he lacked direction and vision to counter the National Democratic Alliance government.
“Keeping the favourable conditions Jagan has now, engaging a strategist is a good idea in the right direction,” he said.
“In the absence of a strong advisor, Jagan is often seen with confusing and conflicting statements of late. A strategist would help him in many ways, provided he listens to the ideas and follows them,” Suravajjula said.
