Nandan Nilekani formally joins Congress, to contest from Bangalore South

Bangalore: Amidst slogans and drumbeats, the man behind Aadhar or the Unique Identification Number, Nandan Nilekani, formally joined the Congress in Bangalore today.

"Bangalore needs a strong champion in Delhi... Everywhere people tell me they want change" Mr Nilekani said at the event. (Congress's first list for Lok Sabha polls)

The 58-year-old billionaire head of the Unique Identification Authority of India or UIDAI and co-founder of IT giant Infosys, will be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Bangalore South where he is up against incumbent MP Ananth Kumar of the BJP. (Sonia, Rahul, Nandan in Congress's first list)

Bangalore South, a middle-class constituency, is a tough nut to crack for the Congress, which has fared poorly here since the late 1970s. Mr Kumar, a BJP General Secretary and member of its top panel of leaders, has won five times from here.

When asked about the tough fight he is up for and the corruption taint against Congress, Mr Nilekani retorted, "It's not that the other party has a clean image either."

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He talked about employment as one of his focus areas. "I know about creating opportunities because of my experience in Infosys and Aadhar," he said.

There had been intense speculation about Mr Nilekani's political debut for weeks now. Rumours heightened after he met Karnataka Congress President Paramaeshwara last month.

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