'Biased': Haryana Congress leaders dismiss Kanugolu's candidate survey

New Delhi: A section of the Haryana Congress has questioned a survey conducted by political consultant Sunil Kanugolu to shortlist the ticket aspirants, alleging that it is biased and manipulated.

Kanugolu, who had founded election consultancy Inclusive Minds before formally joining the Congress in May 2022, has been entrusted with the task of party's poll management in Haryana.

Many Haryana Congress leaders have now accused Kanugolu of working at the behest of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. It is said that Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, who is a very close friend of Hooda's son Deepender, played a key role in wooing Kanugolu to the former chief minister's side.

Kanugolu had been involved in the Congress party's political strategy and Revanth's poll management in Telangana. Soon after his swearing-in as the Telangana chief minister, Revanth made it a point to fly down to Delhi to meet Depender and his family at their residence.

On the lines of Revanth in Telangana, Kanugolu also chalked out a yatra plan for Deepender in Haryana. The yatra named, 'Haryana Maange Hisab (Haryana seeks answers)', was launched by Deepender on July 15, targeting the ruling BJP over issues concerning farmers as well as unemployment, law and order and price rise.

These leaders claimed that Kanugolu helped Hooda in getting tickets for his favourite candidates in the Lok Sabha elections this year. 

"He is now doing the same in the assembly elections also. The so-called survey is being done at the behest of Hooda. All other senior leaders have been completely sidelined. This puts a big question mark on the genuineness of the survey conducted by Kanugolu," a Haryana Congress leader said.

The survey will be put before a meeting to be chaired by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on August 25, and party leaders are not ruling out fireworks during the deliberations.

Another Haryana Congress leader said Hooda doesn't want to cede even an inch to any other leader and this could prove counterproductive for the party in the October 1 polls.