Big loss of face for ruling AAP after finishing a distant second

The Aam Aadmi Party had promised to sweep Delhi with a broom, if they would get control of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. However, as the results of the civic polls started to stream into the countless counting centres across the Capital, the AAP was swept away by the 'Modi wave' and came a distant second with 46 seats.

The party's performance was a far cry from their impressive rout in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, where they bagged 67 of the 70 seats.In Sunday's Municipal polls, AAP fielded new faces and had pulled all stops to get Purvanchali voters on their side.

The party had also believed that they would be able to hold on to the wards housing slums clusters, their stronghold. All their efforts, however, turned out to be in vain on Wednesday.

The humiliating defeat took the top leadership by surprise, who did not take the loss well. Party leaders alleged that EVM tampering tipped the scales in BJP's favour, and attributed the win not to the 'Modi Wave' but an 'EVM wave'.

Many senior leaders, including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and national spokesperson Ashutosh claimed that BJP had perfected the art of EVM tampering, as there was "no reason why the people of Delhi would vote for BJP".

"EVM tampering is the bitter truth of the country's democracy. One can crack jokes on us initially, but we cannot refrain from speaking the truth for the fear of being made fun of," Sisodia told reporters on Wednesday at a press conference.

Talking about the EVM wave, AAP leader Gopal Rai said: "This is the same wave that they (BJP) used in the Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab polls."

Counting data, meanwhile, painted a rather bleak picture as AAP candidates lost many slum wards, registered a poor show at the urban wards and also lost Purvanchali voters who instead voted for BJP.

The BJP had expected a good showing at several urban wards and recorded mammoth victories, designating the AAP to a distant third in several wards. In the posh colonies of Saraswati Nagar, Rani Bagh, Paschim Vihar, Shalimar Bagh, AAP candidates lost by an average margin of 3,000 votes. In the Model Town ward, the AAP candidate lost by 7,000 votes.

The third loss which brought down the fort was the exodus of Purvanchali voters from AAP to the BJP. Purvanchalis, who now form a decisive voting bloc, had voted decisively for the BJP. In the wards from East Patel Nagar, Mayur Vihar Phase-I, Trilokpuri, New Ashok Nagar and Pandav Nagar, the party lost by an average margin of 3,000 votes.

In the wards housing slum colonies of Jahangirpuri, Bhalswa, Samaypur Badli, Tughlaqabad Extension, AAP candidates lost by an average margin of 2,000 votes. In some cases, they even lost by a margin of 6,000 votes.

Delhi's slum colonies, the experimental lab of AAP's development programmes, were wrested by BJP candidates. AAP managed to keep their pocket borough Sangam Vihar, barring the third ward Sangam Vihar E which was won by BJP's Deepak Jain by a slender margin of 812 votes.

The fall out of the poor show in the civic polls saw some heads roll, as the party's Delhi Convener Dilip Pandey resigned from the spot taking responsibility. "I have resigned frm d post of AAP Delhi Convenor, conveyed to National Convenor @ArvindKejriwal to give this responsibility to someone else(sic).," he tweeted.

Morevoer, AAP MLA from Chandni Chowk Alka Lamba also offered her resignation. She also toed a different line from the party's stand by telling reporters that EVM's were not to be blame for AAP's loss.