Can't blame EVMs, polarisation favoured BJP, says AAP

After getting a massive jolt from the BJP and being decimated to zero in the national capital, Aam Aadmi Party's top leadership held an introspection meeting with party convener and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and concluded that EVMs can't be blamed as there was an undercurrent in favour of the BJP.

In the meeting, sources told ANI, the party's top brass decided that voting machines can't be a reason for the defeat, as polarisation of votes favoured the BJP.

Apart from Arvind Kejriwal, other top leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh were present in the meeting held on Thursday evening.

AAP candidates from Delhi - Atishi, Raghav Chadha and Pankaj Gupta - were also a part of the huddle.

Sources in the party told ANI that the leadership also decided that no one can be held responsible for the drubbing owing to the public mood strongly favouring the BJP.

AAP, which is running the government in Delhi, slipped down to the third position with a vote share of a little over 18 per cent, while BJP got over 56 per cent and Congress over 22 per cent.

Three of AAP's candidates lost their deposits getting less than 16.66 per cent votes.

The party's most popular candidate, Atishi, who contested from East Delhi barely managed to save her deposit with 2,19,328 votes, far behind BJP's Gautam Gambhir who won the seat with 6,96,156 votes.

BJP won all seven seats in Delhi, not only repeating the 2014 feat but also bettered its vote share by nearly 10 per cent.

In contrast, AAP, which had won 67 out of the 70 Delhi Assembly seats in 2015, fell from 33 per cent in 2014 to 18.12 per cent in these elections.

Kejriwal will hold a meeting with party volunteers on May 26 to chalk out a strategy for assembly elections to be held early next year.

Delhi, which is mostly a battle of prestige for political parties, went to polls on May 12 in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections.

-ANI