Nandan Nilekani as PM candidate? `Congress keen to commit suicide`

Reacting on the rumours that Congress may name Nandan Nilekani as its candidate for Prime Minister, Janata Dal (United) MP Shivanand Tiwari said the move could be suicidal for the party.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Reacting on the rumours that Congress may name Nandan Nilekani as its candidate for Prime Minister, Janata Dal (United) MP Shivanand Tiwari on Wednesday said the move could be suicidal for the party. Nandan Nilekani is the chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India. Commenting on the speculation doing rounds, Tiwari said: "Only English-speaking people know who is Nandan Nilakeni. If Congress is keen on committing suicide, it should name him as PM candidate." Congress president Sonia Gandhi`s remarks on the party`s prime ministerial candidate generated speculation on Sunday night on whether her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi would be named for the top job. "We have not made any statement. Well, the party has to decide it. The party will decide at the opportune time," she had told reporters when asked whether Rahul would be named the party`s PM candidate in the Lok Sabha polls. "I think people need not worry. At the opportune time, the name of the PM candidate...the name of him will be announced," Gandhi said. Her word "him" triggered speculation whether she was referring to Rahul. Another theory doing the rounds was that it signified that it would be a male candidate and not a woman. In September, reports had claimed that Nilekani would join the Congress party and contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. According to reports, billionaire Nilekani, the cofounder of outsourcer Infosys, could contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket from Bangalore South, Karnataka, his home state.