Poll strategist Kanugolu likely to be Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s adviser

The party high command, it is learnt, wants to use Kanugolu’s services for next year’s Lok Sabha polls, too, given the emphatic win in Karnataka, where the party relied heavily on his micro-management.

Kanugolu is among the Congress core team members behind developing campaigns such as “40 percent” and “PayCM” against the previous BJP government in Karnataka.

A B.E. graduate, Kanugolu was born in Ballari district and later lived in Chennai and Bengaluru. He holds an MS degree in Finance and is also an MBA. His firm Mindshare Analytics worked for the Congress in the Karnataka Assembly polls.

Kanugolu had worked with ace poll strategist Prashant Kishor in 2014 Lok Sabha elections but later parted ways and built his own firm. Unlike Kishor, Kanugolu does not have any presence on social media and is said to be of reclusive nature. Before the Karnataka elections, he had joined the Congress but continued to be a backroom strategist.

Kanugolu had previously worked with DMK chief, and now Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin and came up with the idea of “Namakku Naame” campaign in the run-up to the Assembly polls in the state in 2016. Although it was a success, and elevated Stalin’s public image, the DMK failed to win and AIADMK retained power. As a Congress leader put it then, “The DMK lost but Stalin emerged as a leader.”

Following his stint in Tamil Nadu, Kanugolu worked closely with Amit Shah in Delhi until February 2018 and shaped successful campaigns for the party, including the state elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka with the help of a team of 300. Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he returned to the DMK camp and helped the United Progressive Alliance win 38 of the state’s 39 Lok Sabha seats.