local Congress workers oppose Nandan Nilekani’s candidature
BANGALORE : It may not be all smooth sailing for Infosys co-founder and UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani, who last week made his intention to contest the Lok Sabha elections clear. He has competition in his own backyard.
Some MLAs and block presidents of the Congress from the Bangalore South constituency have suggested the name of another leader, UB Venkatesh as the ideal preference for this Lok Sabha seat.
Both names figure in the Karnataka Congress unit’s short list sent to the Congress high command ahead of the crucial meeting on Friday. Four of the eight MLas who come under Bangalore South are from the Congress.
They say they are not opposed to the candidature of Nilekani, and will support him if the Congress ultimately decides to give him a ticket to contest from here. But that local leaders have been rooting for local businessman UB Venkatesh for some time and his winnability cannot be ignored.
According to top sources in the Congress party, Nandan Nilekani’s candidature from Bangalore South is a done deal.
