An AAP leader on Wednesday projected Arvind Kejriwal as the INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate, prompting her party colleagues to deny that the Delhi chief minister had any such ambition.

The development came a day before the INDIA coalition’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.

Responding to a query from ANI on Wednesday, AAP’s chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said: “If you ask me, I would want Arvind Kejriwal to be the prime ministerial candidate…. He raises people’s issues and rises as a challenger to Prime Minister Modi.”

Hours later, when reporters asked AAP minister Atishi about her party’s hopes for Kejriwal as the Prime Minister, she said: “This might be the personal opinion of the chief spokesperson. But Arvind Kejriwal Ji is not in the race for PM. AAP is a part of the INDIA alliance because India needs to be saved today.... I officially say that Arvind Kejriwal is not a candidate for the PM’s post.”

This was soon repeated by party MP Sanjay Singh to ensure that the point was driven home to party supporters, many of whom are miffed with the idea of sharing space with the Congress in Delhi and Punjab.

A fortnight back, Kakkar had said it was pointless for the AAP to attend the INDIA meeting in Mumbai after Delhi Congress spokesperson Alka Lamba said they had orders from the central leadership to “proceed” with preparations to contest all seven Lok Sabha seats in the capital.

Kakkar withdrew her remarks after the Congress distanced itself from Lamba’s remarks.

The AAP joined the INDIA bloc at its foundation meeting in Bangalore last month. However, both parties share an uneasy relationship after the AAP ousted the Congress from power in Delhi and Punjab.

From its inception more than a decade ago, the AAP has projected itself as an honest alternative to the Congress. After Narendra Modi was re-elected as Prime Minister in 2019, Kejriwal remodelled himself as a benign Hindu alternative to him.

However, the slew of corruption cases against AAP ministers and regular threats from the BJP that the arms of the law would soon reach Kejriwal compelled the AAP to join INDIA.

A party leader told The Telegraph: “Of course, there is some resentment as there will be with any alliance. Our challenge now is to keep our members motivated to fight the Lok Sabha polls even if we are not leading this race. Under the current circumstance, everyone understands that there is no option but to go along with the larger Opposition to defeat the BJP so we can govern states where we have been elected.”