Nilekani, Congress’ new Aadhaar?
KPCC president says Nandan Nilekani was interested in entering the political fray.
Bangalore: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, Dr G. Parameshwar on Tuesday may have ended weeks of speculation on whether one of Karnataka’s more famous sons, Nandan Nilekani, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman and an apolitical figure without a political track record, was interested in entering the political fray.
Speaking to reporters here, Dr Parameshwar said, “When we met recently in Delhi, Nilekani expressed his willingness to contest elections.” But by saying “Our party central leaders will take a decision on whether he should be fielded or not,” the KPCC chief only added more fuel to the Nilekani fire.
As speculation shifts to whether the ex-Infy CEO will be fielded against BJP national general secretary, H.N. Ananth Kumar who has won the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat five times, Dr Parameshwar’s stress on the Infosys co-founder turned UPA’s agent for change’s popularity among youth and the cognoscenti, showed the party was keen on his candidature in the newly politicised urban environment of Bengaluru.
“Many youngsters regard him as their hero and would like to emulate him in real life,” he said.The Congress convenes a state executive committee meeting on Saturday, gearing up for strategies to face the Lok Sabha polls, and restructuring the party machinery in line with AICC vice-president, Rahul Gandhi's one-man-one post rule.