Nandan Nilkeni says he is ready to contest elections, if given a ticket

Infosys co-founder and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairperson Nandan Nilekani on Friday said that he was ready to contest in the upcoming general elections.

Nilekani said that he was keen on fighting the elections, if provided a polls ticket by the Congress party.

"Yes, if I am given a ticket (for the polls), then I will definitely contest," he said.

Earlier, there were speculations that the Congress party could nominate the former software czar as its candidate for the southern half of the Bangalore city in the general elections.

Justifying his entry into politics, Nilekani said that he wished to bring forth a change in the country.

"Certainly I believe that I am interested in doing something for the political front mainly because I think India needs lot of change. India needs to create opportunity for its entire people and at the end of the day, politics is the best platform for change," he said.

Earlier in 2009, Nilekani resigned from the post of Chief Executive Officer of Infosys, one of the most high-profile jobs in India.

Nilekani is presently leading the UIDAI, which is implementing the biometric identity cards, known as Aadhar cards in the country.