In these two states, it was soundly defeated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to PTI, regional leaders like Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath disregarded his recommendations.
But Kanugolu is expected to receive increased responsibility from the Congress before to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Why is this story important?
Even though Kanugolu gave the Congress Telangana and, earlier, Karnataka, it was hampered by the purported lack of autonomy in Rajasthan and MP.
Like his former colleague Prashant Kishor, he is regarded as a premier poll strategist.
Kanugolu is also recognized for organizing Congressman Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which took place across the country last year.
He will supposedly assist the party in the 2024 polls as well. He was formerly a consultant for McKinsey.
Kanugolu’s evaluations of the candidates disregarded in Rajasthan
It has been stated that Kanugolu has evaluated multiple contenders’ chances of winning in Rajasthan.
But according to PTI, his recommendations for creating a pro-Congress narrative prior to the assembly polls were reportedly disregarded.
On the other hand, it is said that Telangana and Karnataka Congress leaders gave Kanugolu a free hand, which helped him function well.
In these states, the Congress was able to capitalize on the anti-incumbency sentiment.
Kanugolu assisted Congress in toppling the BRS regime.
Kanugolu reportedly hooked up with the Congress’s Telangana president, A Revanth Reddy, after masterminding the party’s comeback in Karnataka, enabling the party to win 64 seats in the 119-member legislature.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government of K Chandrashekhar Rao fell as a result of this.
In the meantime, the Congress failed to hold onto power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and was unable to overthrow the BJP in MP in the most recent assembly elections.
Kanugoly was wanted by KCR for the BRS campaign.
Raised in Chennai, Kanugolu is a native of Bellary, Karnataka, and is said to have started his career as a political strategist with Kishor’s Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC).
Remarkably, News18 reports that KCR met with Kanugolu almost two years ago to talk about the possibility of employing him to manage the BRS election campaign.
But finally, once things didn’t work out, he assisted the Congress in overthrowing the same chief minister.