Kejriwal can be INDIA bloc's PM candidate, says AAP leader

Prior to the INDIA alliance gathering in Mumbai, AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar advocated for Arvind Kejriwal as the prime ministerial candidate for the Opposition coalition. However, party members Atishi and Sanjay Singh refuted any suggestion that the Delhi chief minister harboured such ambitions.

Kakkar said Kejriwal, as the chief minister of Delhi, has given a model that the whole country can benefit from.

She was responding to a question on who should be the prime ministerial candidate of the INDIA alliance.

"As a spokesperson, I would propose our national convener Arvind Kejriwal's name," the AAP's chief national spokesperson told PTI.

"He has given a model that benefits the people. I would want it to happen but the decision is not in my hands," she said.

When the party's Delhi convener and Environment Minister Gopal Rai was asked about it, he said every AAP member wants Kejriwal for the prime minister's post but a decision on it would only be finalised by all the members of the INDIA bloc.

On whether the AAP will propose Kejriwal's name, he said, "There is nothing like giving a name. We are already its part and Arvind Kejriwal is a part of the bloc." The comments came on the eve of the INDIA alliance's meeting in Mumbai during which the opposition leaders are expected to chalk out a joint campaign strategy to take on the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and iron out the differences among themselves.

Delhi minister Atishi, however, said Kejriwal is not in the race for the prime minister's post.

Responding to a question on Kakkar's comments, she said, "I am making it official that Arvind Kejriwal is not in the race to become the prime minister of the country." "He has joined the India bloc to save the Constitution, democracy and the country," she said, while stating that Kakkar's views were personal.

AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh concurred with Atishi and said Kejriwal had joined the INDIA bloc to save the country.

"Arvind Kejriwal's aim, objective and intention to join the INDIA alliance is to save this country. His aim is not to become the PM. He is not in the race to become PM," Singh asserted.

Last year, the then Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had also pitched for Kejriwal as prime minister. "'Ek Mauka Kejriwal Ko' (One chance to Kejriwal) has become a national level talk, Sisodia had said in an interview to PTI.

"People see Kejriwal as an alternative to (Narendra) Modi in 2024 because he talks about health, education and employment," he had said.

(With agency inputs)