Arvind Kejriwal Not In PM's Race, Clarifies Delhi Minister Atishi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is not a candidate for the Prime Minister's post, said his cabinet colleague Atishi on Wednesday. Her assertion came in response to remarks made by AAP's national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar that Mr Kejriwal can be an ideal Prime Minister for the nation.

"This might be the personal opinion of the chief spokesperson. But Arvind Kejriwal is not at all a part of the PM race. AAP is a part of the INDIA alliance because India needs to be saved today," said Ms Atishi.

"The country, its constitution and its democracy need to be saved. I officially say that Arvind Kejriwal is not a candidate for the PM post," she added.  

Earlier in the day, Ms Kakkar said that Arvind Kejriwal should be the Prime Ministerial candidate as he has worked for the welfare of the public in the national capital. 

"If you ask me, I would want Arvind Kejriwal to be the Prime Ministerial candidate. Even in such back-breaking inflation, the national capital Delhi has the lowest inflation. There is free water, free education, free electricity, free bus rides for women, and free pilgrimage for the elderly, but still a surplus budget is presented. He raises people's issues and rises as a challenger," she said. 

Earlier, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said that every party member wanted to see Mr Kejriwal as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

However, the AAP leader added that the Prime Ministerial candidate will be decided by the opposition bloc - INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance).

The INDIA alliance members are meeting in Mumbai on August 30 and 31. Mr Kejriwal will be attending the meeting. This is the second meeting that the AAP will participate in after skipping the Patna meeting.

A total of 26 to 27 parties are likely to participate in the third meeting of the newly formed opposition alliance. The meeting will see discussions on the bloc's strategies ahead of the upcoming state elections and the all-important general elections next year. The logo of the

The opposition alliance is also likely to be unveiled during the two-day meeting.

The inaugural meeting of the alliance was convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on June 23. The second meeting of the group was hosted at Bengaluru in Congress-ruled Karnataka on July 17-18.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)