Nandan Nilekani says ready to contest polls from Congress ticket

NEW DELHI: UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani today said he is ready to contest election from Congress if the party gives a ticket to him.

"I have already said that if the Congress gives me a ticket, I will stand for election...all I have said is that I am ready to stand on a congress ticket," Nilekani said during an event here.

The Head of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had last week announced that he would join the Congress party and ready to contest the Lok Sabha elections scheduled later this year.

The Congress is likely to field Nilekani from Bangalore South, a middle-class centric constituency, known for its antipathy towards Congress since the late 1970s, from where BJP General Secretary Ananth Kumar has won five times.

Nilekani said that Congress is a party that is dedicated to long term reforms and his tenure so far in the government has been fully supportive.

"I think Congress is a party dedicated to long term reforms. And certainly, in my five years in government, it has given me total support to implement such a sophisticated project," he added.