Newsmaker: K C Venugopal gets a chance to stand out and rise, or stumble

The political career of K C Venugopal, 54, a second-term Lok Sabha member (from Alappuzha in Kerala), has risen since he started in student politics at Payyannur College in the late 1980s.
 
His latest responsibility, as the All India Congress Committee’s general secretary in charge of Karnataka, comes as the party is trying to retain its rule in the southern state, which will have legislative Assembly polls in April next year.
 
Venugopal’s background as state head of the National Students Union of India and the Indian Youth Congress gave him the edge —  Rahul Gandhi, the vice-president, wanted