With no takers for AAP, party swept away in Haryana

Chandigarh: The Haryana Assembly polls outcome has come as a blow to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which hoped to make a mark in the elections.

The party drew a blank so far with its senior vice-president of the state unit Anurag Dhanda being among those set to suffer a big defeat. Dhanda, who contested from the Kalayat seat in the Kaithal district, was at the seventh position with Congress’ Vikas Saharan leading by a margin of 13,419 votes.

No AAP nominee was in the contest in any of the 90 seats, as per the ECI data.

The AAP, which has governments in Delhi and Punjab, did not have any electoral success in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

The AAP contested the Assembly polls solo after talks with the Congress for stitching an alliance could not fructify.

During his poll campaigns, party national convener Arvind Kejriwal said that had he been released from jail three to four months back, his party would have formed its government in the state after the polls.

“Whatever government is formed in Haryana, it will be formed with the support of the Aam Aadmi Party,” he claimed.

Kejriwal was released from Tihar jail on September 13 after he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the CBI case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. He remained in jail for five months.

Though the AAP was trying its luck in the 2024 Assembly polls, its past poll record shows its dismal performance in Haryana.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, it had unsuccessfully contested all the 10 parliamentary seats in the state. In the 2019 parliamentary polls, AAP joined hands with the JJP and fielded candidates from three seats – Faridabad, Karnal and Ambala – and they too lost. Agencies