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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost in all 205 constituencies it contested in the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh assembly elections on Sunday, failing to notch up even 1% of the vote in any of the three states.
Ahead of next year’s general elections, the results are a setback for a party that rules Delhi and Punjab, and nurtured ambitions of doing well nationally.
The party contested 66 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 85 in Rajasthan and 54 in Chhattisgarh, losing in every seat, showed data from the Election Commission of India.
In Madhya Pradesh, the party bagged just 0.53% of the vote, lower than even NOTA (0.98%), while in Chhattisgarh it got 0.93%. In Rajasthan, the party got just 0.38% of all votes.
The party congratulated the BJP for its victory in three states and the Congress for winning Telangana, but added that the results were not weathervanes ahead of the 2024 general elections.
“We submit to the will of the people and congratulate BJP for the win in 3 states… This is however not reflective of the mood of the nation for Lok Sabha as Congress won MP, Chattisgarh & Rajasthan in 2018 but the BJP won the 2019 Lok Sabha” said the party in a statement.
Still, the results will concern the AAP and likely dent the party’s national ambitions that have stumbled since winning Punjab in 2022.The party won two seats in the Goa assembly elections and five in Gujarat, but drew a blank in Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
The party is a constituent of the Opposition’s 28-party Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). “India alliance talks will now be held on December 6 in Delhi, in which we will decide the future course of action,” the AAP said in its statement.
Fareeha Iftikhar is a Special Correspondent with the national political bureau of the Hindustan Times. She tracks the education ministry, and covers the beat at the national level for the newspaper. She also writes on issues related to gender, human rights and different policy matters.
AAP 3-state report card: Contested 205, Lost 205 – Hindustan Times
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