Congress leaders snubbed poll-strategist Kanugolu in Rajasthan, MP? Here's truth
Poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu—credited for the Congress's Telangana win—has reportedly been snubbed by senior party leaders in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It badly lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in these two states. Regional leaders, including Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath, ignored his suggestions, per PTI. However, Kanugolu will likely get more responsibilities from the Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Why does this story matter?
Though Kanugolu delivered Telangana—and previously Karnataka—to the Congress, the alleged lack of autonomy in Rajasthan and MP worked against it. He is considered a leading poll strategist like his one-time colleague Prashant Kishor. Kanugolu is also credited with planning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's nationwide Bharat Jodo Yatra last year. A former McKinsey consultant, he would reportedly help the party in the 2024 polls, too.
Kanugolu's assessments about candidates ignored in Rajasthan
Kanugolu had reportedly made several assessments about the winning prospects of probable candidates in Rajasthan. However, his suggestions to build a pro-Congress narrative ahead of the assembly polls were allegedly ignored, per PTI. In contrast, Karnataka and Telangana Congress leaders reportedly gave Kanugolu a free hand, which allowed him to work efficiently. The Congress was successful in riding the anti-incumbency wave in these states.
Kanugolu helped Congress collapse BRS government
After orchestrating the Congress's Karnataka comeback, Kanugolu reportedly teamed up with its Telangana chief, A Revanth Reddy, helping the party secure 64 seats in the 119-member assembly. This led to the collapse of K Chandrashekhar Rao's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government. Meanwhile, in the latest assembly elections, the Congress couldn't unseat the BJP in MP and failed to retain power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
KCR wanted to hire Kanugoly for BRS campaign
A native of Karnataka's Bellary brought up in Chennai, Kanugolu reportedly began his political strategist career with Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC). Interestingly, around two years ago, KCR met with Kanugolu to discuss the idea of hiring him to handle the BRS election campaign, per News18. However, things didn't work out, and he eventually helped the Congress dethrone the same chief minister.
His past poll projects
Before teaming up with the Congress, Kanugolu reportedly helped the BJP in several campaigns, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. In 2018, he assisted the BJP in Karnataka—which emerged as the single-largest party. He also contributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2014 campaign. Kanugolu worked with regional parties like Dravida Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu.
