Ahead of the third INDIA bloc meet in Mumbai, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Wednesday said that AAP has joined INDIA to prepare a blueprint for a better India.
"AAP has not joined the INDIA alliance for the PM post. Arvind Kejriwal is not in the race to become the PM. We have joined the INDIA alliance to prepare a blueprint for a better India," the AAP MP said.
"If any party is saying this (that AAP has joined the INDIA bloc for the PM post), it means that we have many capable faces for the PM post. Many prominent leaders are the part of INDIA alliance," he added.
He further asked, do they (BJP/NDA) have any such face except PM Modi.
"Is there anyone in the BJP who can say that they want Nitin Gadkari, Yogi Adityanath or someone from Chirag Paswan's party to become the next PM face...At their party, one can't even express this kind of thought," he said.
Earlier in the day, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said party national convener Arvind Kejriwal is not in the race for Prime Minister.
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"Arvind Kejriwal's motive to join the INDIA Alliance is to save the country. Arvind Kejriwal is not in the race to be a Prime Minister. The issues like PM candidate and seat sharing will be decided by consensus by the alliance," Sanjay Singh told ANI.
The third meeting of the INDIA alliance will be held in Maharashtra's Mumbai on August 31 and September 1.
The meeting will discuss the alliance strategies for the Lok Sabha election and the seat sharing in the states. A new logo of the INDIA alliance is also likely to be launched.
A total of 28 parties are likely to participate in the third meeting of the newly formed opposition alliance in Mumbai.
The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The first meeting of the joint opposition convened in Patna on June 23 and the second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 17-18. The third meeting is slated to be in Mumbai on August 31-September 1.
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