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Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani today formally joined the Congress.
The party has already nominated him as its candidate for Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency, where he will face H N Ananthkumar of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who has won five-times in a row since 1996.
Utter chaos ruled at the party office before Nilekani entered as scores of party workers were thronging to receive him. Nilekani was given a ceremonial welcome at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office by party workers and his supporters amid drumbeats and bursting of firecrackers.
KPCC President G Parameshwara welcomed him into the party by handing over a party flag and 'anga vasthra' (a shawl with tricolour) besides a golden colour Mysore peta (traditional head gear).
Immediately after that Nilekani filled up the application form for primary membership of the party. His registration number is 121,781.
Later, addressing his first press conference, Nilekani said, "Congress party gave me a chance to create Aadhaar for the country. So, I decided to join the party and serve the people of Bangalore and the country."
It is time for change in Bangalore and it needs a strong champion in Delhi, he said adding, "I will bring that change in Bangalore. I am a true Bangalorean. I have born at Vani Vilsas Hospital in Bangalore and lived here throughout my life. Now, it is time for me to serve Bangalore. I have a clean image and I am confident that I will win from Bangalore South," said the 58-year old Nilekani.
Nilekani said he was instrumental in setting up Infosys along with Narayana Murthy and others.
"I have been part of the public life in Bangalore. During the chief ministership of S M Krishna, I headed the Bangalore Agenda Task Force and contributed to the public life. I have built Infosys and UIDAI. I have experience of private sector and public sector. I know how to creat jobs and I will use this experience in serving the constituency of Bangalore South," Nilekani said.
Nilekani will take on BJP's Ananth Kumar, who has won five times in a row since 1996. The constituency is represented by BJP since 1991 continuously. The last Congressman to win from this place was former chief minister of Karnataka R Gundu Rao, who had won in 1989.
When asked how will he face the competition from Ananth Kumar of BJP, Nilekani said "In every profession, politics or business there comes a time when somebody has to go, and that time has arrived."
Nilekani has been unofficially campaigning at the Bangalore South constituency for the last three months or so. "I think the constituency needs a clean, capable local person, somebody who has worked selflessly. Everywhere I go there is a strong desire for change. I have got tremendous support," he added.
Asked if allegations of corruption against Congress-led UPA government would affect his prospects, he said, "Corruption is not limited to just one party. It is not that the other party (BJP) has a great clean image either, we know the problems we had for the last five years in the state. I look forward to working with the party because party is going through change; I have been invited to be part of the change, I would like to do that," Nilekani said.
After demitting office as Infosys CEO in 2007, Nilekani had taken charge as head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, mandated to give a billion Indians an identity card.
