Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao invited Sunil Kanugolu, an election strategist, to his farmhouse two years ago. He was invited to discuss the upcoming elections in Telangana. KCR's invitation to Kanugolu came at the time when he was about to take up a new job after the Tamil Nadu elections. However, after days of meetings and discussions, Kanugolu happily declined KCR's offer.
However, months later, the news shocked the political world. The news was that AICC had appointed Sunil Kanugolu as the chairman of the election strategy committee of the Congress. Today, when the Telangana election results come out, KCR's biggest regret is that they could not bring Kanugolu to his camp.
Kanugolu’s tactics
Kanugolu joined the Congress and played a crucial role in the Karnataka and Telangana elections. The Congress came to power when the Karnataka election results were announced last May. It was a resounding victory for the Congress in the state. In Telangana, the same strategies prepared by Kanugolu in Karnataka were implemented by the Congress.
One of the crucial challenges for Kanugolu was to end KCR's dominance in Telangana and bring the Congress to power. With the election approaching, the BJP threatened to push the Congress which was in the second place to the third place. However, everyone was really shocked when the election results came out today. KCR, who dreamt of being the Chief Minister of Telangana for the third time, was left devastated.
Kanugolu’s sweet revenge
Similar to Karnataka, Kanugolu also implemented a silent operation in Telangana. Kanugolu decided to plan the election strategy in such a way as to put KCR behind. However, who took up politics as a personal vendetta, sent police officers to raid Kanugolu’s office.
A police team raided Kanugolu Hyderabad office and seized the materials. Kanugolu was also produced for questioning. However, Kanugolu, who did not get tired of this, opened a new office and started working. Kanugolu may have been proud when the election results came out today. In a way, it is Kanugolu sweet revenge on KCR.
With Rahul
Kanugolu has emerged as one of the most influential figures in the Congress, directly advising Rahul Gandhi on election matters. Perhaps, Kanugolu does not appear before the media in pictures or discussions. Silent functioning is the hallmark of Kanugolu. He also participated in assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. However, Telangana was more complicated.
Weakened BJP
Kanugolu was convinced that the BJP would choose many ways to prevent the Congress from coming to power in the state. With this in mind, Kanugolu initially tried to limit the BJP's influence in the state. He requested YSR's daughter Y S Sharmila not to field candidates in Telangana.
Sharmila vengefully vowed to humiliate KCR who dared to arrest her. TDP president Chandrababu Naidu also withdrew from the contest in Telangana, making Kanugolu’s job even easier. Telangana witnessed a direct contest between KCR and Congress as BJP's influence in the state declined.