Its chief behind bars and police around its office, an embattled Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday roped in the wife of jailed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to read out his public statement that said his welfare schemes would continue.

Sunita Kejriwal delivered her webcast in the same setting that her husband does — flanked by the Tiranga and with portraits of Bhagat Singh and B.R. Ambedkar behind her. The optics gave rise to speculation — denied by the party — of her stepping into his shoes as chief minister or AAP national convener.

A petition by Kejriwal seeking an emergency hearing of his challenge to his remand by the acting chief justice of Delhi High Court on Sunday was denied. The chief minister has argued that his arrest and remand (till March 28) are both bad in law, and that he should be released immediately. The court reopens after Holi on March 27.

AAP leaders have flagged the donations by a Hyderabad-based businessman to the BJP. P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, who won contracts to sell liquor in parts of Delhi under the now-shelved liquor policy of the Kejriwal government, was previously named as an accused in the case but is now a prosecution witness.

The AAP also sought an appointment with the Election Commission of India to complain against the police regulating entry to the road to the party office.

The statement Sunita read out on behalf of her husband said: “There are many powers within and outside India that are weakening India, we need to be aware and identify these powers and defeat them.

“There are many such people and forces in India who are patriotic and want India to progress. We need to connect with these forces and strengthen them further.”

Sunita — an ex-Indian Revenue Service officer like her husband — added: “My mother and sisters in Delhi might be thinking, ‘Kejriwal has gone inside, now (we) don’t know whether we’ll get the Rs 1,000 per month (income support scheme) or not’…. I (Kejriwal) will come out soon and fulfil my promise.”

There were no ministers by her side during the webcast. Kejriwal remains the chief minister and his party has reaffirmed that he would continue to function from jail.

“I also appeal to all the workers of the Aam Aadmi Party that social service and public service should not stop because of my imprisonment. And yes, don’t hate the BJP folks for this reason, they are all our brothers and sisters,” the statement concluded.

Social media was soon abuzz with descriptions of Sunita as “Rabri 2.0” — a reference to Lalu Prasad’s wife Rabri Devi replacing him as Bihar chief minister after his arrest in the fodder scam in 1997.

Richa Pandey Mishra, an ex-AAP leader who now heads the Delhi BJP’s women’s front, posted a video mimicking Sunita.

An AAP leader flatly denied any move to elevate Sunita within the party or the Delhi government.

“It was emotional messaging and also reassurance of status quo and hence the positioning (the backdrop of the webcast)…. The BJP’s attacks are only increasing (the) discussion of Arvindji’s arrest,” he told The Telegraph.

He added that Sunita was not politically inclined. “(But) there is a lobby of sycophants that feels so (that she should be chief minister).… They are trying to meet her.”

Asked if Sunita was being elevated, party spokesperson Jasmine Shah told this newspaper: “There is no credence to this low-level politics being played on social media…. Only the BJP is trying to demean Sunitaji, and demean this moment by spreading this false rumour.

“Sunitaji has been part of the AAP family from Day One, and she made an emotional appeal in what is a very difficult time for her.”

At a news conference, the AAP called for the arrest of BJP leaders in connection with the liquor policy case saying the BJP had received electoral bonds from Aurobindo Pharma, a firm owned by Reddy before and after his 2022 arrest.

The party said in a statement: “So on one hand, the BJP through ED threatened Sarath Chandra Reddy to give pre-dictated statements against AAP leaders, which were read out in the Rouse Avenue court yesterday (Friday) to get the remand of CM Arvind Kejriwal, and on the other hand it did a ‘vasooli’ (extortion) of Rs 60 crores (sic) from the same businessman through electoral bonds into its own accounts.”

It added: “And it is this data (of bonds) that shows how the entire Delhi liquor scam is not just fake, it is a grand conspiracy to trap AAP leaders while at the same time use the proceeds of crime under Delhi excise policy to fill the coffers of BJP. (The) AAP demands the ED to make BJP an accused in this case and arrest all the top leaders of BJP including their President J.P. Nadda.”

The police responded to the AAP’s accusation of preventing its leaders from going to the party office, saying prohibitory orders were in force in the area.

The police said they had merely stopped a march by party supporters towards the Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg, where the offices of the AAP and the BJP are located.