?? Nandan Nilekani for PM ?? Congress's wisdom or desperation ?

[raniraja]

This is doing the rounds on TV today evening. Nandan Nilekani may be Congress's Prime Ministerial candidate !! What do you think about it ? Will he split the corporate world's preference for Modi ? Or is it a political suicide by the Congress to announce someone without any popular base.

One thing is sure, Nandan won't be denied a US Visa

Will Congress name PM choice? Buzz around Nilekani as a wild card
TNN | Dec 11, 2013, 01.41 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The corridors of the capital are abuzz with speculation as to who might be Congress' candidate for Prime Minister — if a candidate should indeed be named before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and if Rahul Gandhi decides he doesn't wish to position himself for the job.

Meanings are being read in Sonia Gandhi's statement on Sunday, after the electoral debacle, that a candidate would be named at an "opportune time". Although several senior leaders in the party have refused to attach any significance whatsoever to the statement and have pointed to its very open-ended and non-specific nature, that hasn't stopped New Delhi's rumour mills from whirring.

There are the usual names from within — finance minister P Chidambaram, defence minister A K Antony, and home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Then, there is a wildcard entry — UDAI chairman and the man behind Aadhaar: Nandan Nilekani.

In fact, some of the recent attacks on Aadhaar are being traced back to the ( i will like to put "perceived" here) emergence of Nilekani as a dark horse.

When TOI called him, Nilekani's immediate and only reaction was, "Complete rubbish. This must be a figment of someone's over-active imagination."

Among the things that are said to be going in his favour:

* Technocrat with no political base of his own;

* Clean image;

* Known to business;

* Good interpersonal skills;

* Was one of the founding members of Infosys, who is not only wealthy in his own right, but has also given away a lot of it;

* Now has four-and-a-half years experience in government: as head of the Unique Identification project has had to work across states, parties and ministries to implement one of the world's most ambitious and politically difficult public projects;

* Will be a good face to project globally;

* Is said to have a good equation with Sonia and especially Rahul;

* At 58, is relatively young;

* As an alumnus of IIT, a symbol of modern-day meritocracy;

* His wife, Rohini, has impeccable credentials in the non-profit sector, having been a prime driver of a number of NGOs and a contributor to a few others;

* Can possibly draw an army of young volunteers like the Aam Aadmi Party has.

That he is not averse to the rough and tumble of politics is obvious from his as-yet-unannounced decision to contest the Lok Sabha elections from South Bangalore, for which he already has a large campaign team on the ground and running.

Obviously, the opposition from within Congress will be intense. There are leaders with many, many more years of experience in politics and government, and very strong credentials in running ministries. Chidambaram, in particular, has held some of the most critical portfolios at the Centre, from home to finance. He has a great reputation for efficiency and energy, as a reformer, and for his grasp of complex issues. Among the others, Antony is known to have the absolute trust of the Gandhis, while Shinde, a Dalit, speaks good Hindi, has the experience of running a coalition government in Maharashtra and has an impeccable track record as a loyalist.

Nilekani, by comparison, is still a novice. Also, Manmohan Singh's performance is seen to have robbed technocrats of some of their sheen, at least in the political arena.

If Nilekani's candidature gains currency, Aadhaar is likely to come under even greater attack even as officials in the Unique Identification Authority of India point to the fact that 510 million cards have already been issued and the target of 600 million will be met in the next few months. They see it as testimony to the execution skills of Nilekani and his ability to navigate the system, often in the face of open as well as veiled opposition from within.

Discounting the speculation around Nilekani, a senior Congress leader said, "First and foremost, this assumes that a name will be announced, and that Rahul isn't interested. Just two days ago, he vowed to work at transforming the Congress organisation. Does that sound like he wants to step aside?"

But there is a section within the Congress that believes Congress should make its choice known. Said another senior party leader, "BJP and AAP have benefited from the fact that voters have a face — Modi and Kejriwal. Of course, Kejriwal is the founder of his party, so there's no question of not projecting him. But yes, naming a PM candidate can have a downside too, especially in a party like Congress."

Well, the Congress had an economist screw the economy for 10 years, now maybe they will give chance to an IT guy

[aragorn]

Yeah, you will have versions of different laws and budgets :rofl:

Congress is searching for candidates as RaGa is failed.

Priyanka can not be PM candidate as her husband Robert is involved in some questionable deals , more deals will be revealed as Rajasthan has now BJP gov.

Nilkeni or Antony might be the Con guy

They can also decide someone from like NiKu as PM candidate.

[raniraja]

Originally Posted by aragorn

Yeah, you will have versions of different laws and budgets :rofl:

and they may end up looking for ctrl+z button

[PeaceSeeker]

I think its a good choice

[sarv_shaktimaan]

chutiya nandan ko PM nahi bana sakte..

for being PM one has to be either a mass leader or even a leader.. kal ko Congress Tendulkar ko banayegi PM.. hadd ho gayi.

[GpeL]

who the fukk is nikgay..er nilkanni or whatever that feller is.. what is his claim to fame.

No just 2 lines will do.. no need of a biography.

[smellyfinger]

Originally Posted by sarv_shaktimaan

chutiya nandan ko PM nahi bana sakte..

for being PM one has to be either a mass leader or even a leader.. kal ko Congress Tendulkar ko banayegi PM.. hadd ho gayi.

I think it is a good move. High time we tried someone who has not risen to the top in the septic tank of politics. You know the saying - the biggest chunks rise to the top.

[GpeL]

ohhhhhhhhhhhh that infosys dude..why do they want to kill him!!! bastards. Nilkeni sir ji.. run for the hills.. contact me for amranath reservations..

[raniraja]

Originally Posted by sarv_shaktimaan

chutiya nandan ko PM nahi bana sakte..

for being PM one has to be either a mass leader or even a leader.. kal ko Congress Tendulkar ko banayegi PM.. hadd ho gayi.

MMS was never a mass leader. He lost the only LS election he fought. Congress will deliberately not choose a mass leader, he/she may overshadow the Gandhis.

Originally Posted by GpeL

who the fukk is nikgay..er nilkanni or whatever that feller is.. what is his claim to fame.

No just 2 lines will do.. no need of a biography.

If fame is the criteria, then why not tendya as sarvi proposed, or bachchan ??

[GpeL]

bacchahhu burnt his hans with rajiv once.. so will pass jaya bacchhu is busy changing jr aish's diapee.. tendu's problem is he is still in his diapee

[sarv_shaktimaan]

Originally Posted by smellyfinger

I think it is a good move. High time we tried someone who has not risen to the top in the septic tank of politics. You know the saying - the biggest chunks rise to the top.

it is a good move.. for the BJP.. everyone knows how chutiya nandan has screwed up Aadhar.

[GpeL]

Originally Posted by raniraja

then why not tendya as sarvi proposed??

the answer is right there.. the very origin of the idea is dubious as it is comming from the bottom of a smirnoff 2 ltr bottle!!

[raniraja]

Originally Posted by GpeL

bacchahhu burnt his hans with rajiv once.. so will pass jaya bacchhu is busy changing jr aish's diapee.. tendu's problem is he is still in his diapee

bachchan is preparing to be the President. Lambi race ka ghoda hai. He once said in an interview about the Gandhis "Vo raja hain, hum rank hain"... he is looking to avenge himself by becoming the president. Isliye Modi ke talve chaat raha hai kafi time se....

Tendulkar will get all of marathi support for his politics.

[GpeL]

and jab papu pager ho saktaa hai why not pappu pm? Or papplu PM?..

vaise bhi sonia jeeeee ko pm papploo hi chahiyee..

Pappu chalenga.. if he does not listen subere ka du doo bottal nahi dengi.. apne aap line par aa jaayega.. vo gareeb ko bola gareebi is a state of mind which is true but not applicable to du doo botal naa!!

[swami]

Originally Posted by sarv_shaktimaan

chutiya nandan ko PM nahi bana sakte..

for being PM one has to be either a mass leader or even a leader.. kal ko Congress Tendulkar ko banayegi PM.. hadd ho gayi.

Aadhar card ke naam par toh pareshan hogaya yaar mai

Ab yeh PM banega toh aur kya kya card layega

MMS has a weak point that he cannot speak,wonder what this guy's weak point is ? Kuch na kuch kamzori toh hogi warna aise hi congress PM nahi banayegi