Billionaire politician Nandan Nilekani, the former head of IT giant Infosys and the architect of the Aadhar unique identity project, faces perhaps the biggest challenge of his life in the coming Lok Sabha elections. He is taking on five-time BJP MP Anantha Kumar in Bangalore South in the polls next month. In an interview with K Giriprakash , Nilekani spoke about why he feels confident of the poll outcome.
You have often talked about how confident you are of winning elections. Where does this confidence arise from?
I think this confidence is coming from the people. During the last few days, I have been meeting people from all walks of life — in parks, slums, apartment buildings, colleges, streets and eateries.
I am getting a very positive response. There is a huge anti-incumbency wave against the current MP, who has been winning the elections for the past five terms. When they look at my profile, they know that I am a clean candidate; I have extensive experience in public and private sectors.
I have worked for the development of Bangalore city through the Bangalore Action Task Force when I was with Infosys. I am very much a local guy here. Also, the entire Congress party machinery is working with me.
You have said people expect you to create jobs in case you get elected. How do you plan to create jobs?
I see my role as an opportunity creator and job is part of that which needs to be done in a systematic manner. When we all set up Infosys, we built a company and a system and created lakhs of jobs. The IT industry created systems and created millions of jobs. Look at Aadhar. It covers a population of 600 million. We need to create systems which expand the opportunity to create jobs, create more entrepreneurs who create wealth as well as jobs; we need to make education more accessible.
These are all systemic issues which can be done. People want problem-solving politicians and I want to be one such a problem-solving politician.
Haven’t you ever felt like a fish out of water? Politics is alien territory for you…
Five years ago, I had not even contemplated to join politics — not even a year ago.The country is going through a transformation. There is a huge desire for change. People want clean and incorruptible politicians and those who have experience as well. Time has come when people want a different kind of politician. This election will be a test case of that belief.
There were reports that at the grassroot level, not many were happy about your candidacy…
See, before a candidate’s name is finalised, there are a lot of people who are competing for the seat. But once the party nominates a person to fight the elections, then all the forces will work together to ensure his victory. Everyone knows that it is a high profile contest. The Congress has not won here for 25 years and the party knows that it has the best chance to win this time.
Why did you choose to join a party which is ridden with so many scams?
If there is a scam, then the guilty has to be punished. But scams are there in every Government. And I want to be part of a process which wants to make politics cleaner. My ideology and that of the Congress are the same. I have grown up on secular and Nehruvian values. It is my party and I look forward to being a loyal soldier of the party.
There is a lot of controversy regarding the legitimacy of the Aadhar scheme. The Supreme Court has said it is not mandatory and a parliamentary committee rejected it…
There is no controversy. Aadhar is a perfectly legal project. The law that is under the consideration before Parliament is about creating a regulator. It is just like SEBI. The Government is well within its right of launching a project first and then set up a regulator. Aadhar has reached 60 crore people who now have an ID.
What are the key issues the next Government needs to tackle immediately? Given a chance, how would you want to tackle them?
My first priority will be to increase revenues and to get GST going. I would want to improve expenditure and have Aadhar-based cash transfers.
The procurement process done in the Government has to be carried out in a transparent manner and at the cheapest price. We need to auction natural resources in a manner where the Government gets the maximum price for it.
How does NR Narayana Murthy view your entry into politics? Will he campaign for you?
He has been very supportive but whether he will campaign for me is something that you need to ask him.