[7] He helped former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee write his speeches[8] and in 2008 was acting as a strategist for Lal Krishna Advani,[9] who had influenced his rise within the party.

[13] It is reported that the Chairman, Srichand Hinduja noticed Sudheendra Kulkarni's Blitz article praising him as a modern-day 'Chanakya' or political diplomat, and arranged to meet him.

Later televised and known as the "cash-for-votes scandal", the operation purported to show a bribe of 10 million rupees being offered to three BJP MPs on behalf of the Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.

[17][18] On 12 October 2015, Kulkarni was attacked by Shiv Sena activists for organising a book launch for former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.

The Sena alleged that Kulkarni had disrespected Indian soldiers by sharing a stage with Kasuri, and his attackers blackened his face and clothes with black paint.

[20] In the run-up to the 2019 elections, Sudheendra Kulkarni switched sides again, and started openly supporting the Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the best candidate for the country's Prime Minister.