BHOPAL: To help shape its campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, where the grand old party's government was overthrown by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) three years ago, the Congress has hired poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu, a former associate of Prashant Kishor, a party official said.
In Karnataka, where the Assembly elections will take place on May 10, Kanugolu is now leading the Congress' campaign there. He will concentrate on Madhya Pradesh and set up his office there when the election is over, the party official said.
Kanugolu previously worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the BJP's election campaign. Later, he began planning congressional bids. He even contributed to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, he added.
By the end of this year, Madhya Pradesh will hold elections for its legislative body.
"A professional strategist's help comes handy in preparing for Assembly polls. Madhya Pradesh's intrinsic political situation, including caste equations, make the task more complicated.
The BJP gained 109 seats in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly in the 2018 elections, leaving the Congress as the party with the most representation.
Under Kamal Nath, the grand old party established a coalition administration. However, many Congress MLAs left the party as a result of a mutiny by Jyotiradiya Scindia, a powerful State leader. Later on, they joined the BJP, which made Shivraj Singh Chouhan's comeback as chief minister possible.
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