On 3rd December, the Election Commission of India announced the states’ assembly election results for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. Out of these four, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contested in three states. A total of 204 AAP candidates tried their luck in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
AAP’s chief and Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, and CM of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, made tall promises during their election campaigns. They talked about the work done by the AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi. However, the voters did not heed their poll promises, and all the candidates lost their seats. Interestingly, AAP maintained its record of forfeiting deposits and losing to NOTA on many seats.
Since its inception, AAP has embarked on a remarkable journey of consistently losing deposits in almost every state election. In a way, they have turned this undesirable feat into an art form. The political pundits and general public scratched their heads after every state election where AAP contested and thought about what makes AAP contest elections in states where they know it would be impossible to win.
AAP is known for over-ambitious promises and penchant for self-proclaimed righteousness. The self-loathing is so deeply rooted in the party that the leaders forget that they need to differentiate between realistic contracts and bizarre policy proposals. Anyway, coming to the results, let’s discuss how AAP performed in Madhya Pradesh.
AAP lost deposit on 63 seats in Madhya Pradesh
The voting in Madhya Pradesh took place on 17th November 2023 for all 230 seats. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the elections with 163 seats, crushing Congress which won only 66 seats. Bharatiya Adivasi Party, a new name in the political arena, won one seat in MP.
Coming to AAP, the party fielded 65 candidates in the state assembly elections. All candidates received 2,33,458 votes across the state, making 0.54% of the total vote share. Interestingly, 0.98% of voters chose NOTA or None Of The Above. NOTA got 4,27,710 votes across the state.
Only two AAP candidates, Mamta Meena from Chachoura and Sudhir Yadav from Banda, managed to save their deposits in Madhya Pradesh. The remaining 63 candidates lost their deposits.
Furthermore, 18 of the 65 candidates received fewer votes compared to NOTA.
AAP lost deposit on all seats in Chhattisgarh
The voting in Chhattisgarh took place in two phases on 7th November and 17th November 2023 for all 90 seats. BJP emerged victorious in the elections with 54 seats. Incumbent ruling party Congress managed to win only 35 seats. BJP’s victory was not surprising as the Congress government in the state was clouded by a series of scams. Gondvana Gantantra Party (GGP) won one seat in the state.
AAP fielded 54 candidates in the state. All candidates combined received 1,44,710 votes across the state, which makes 0.93% of the total vote share. Interestingly, 1.26% of voters chose NOTA or None Of The Above. NOTA got 1,97,678 votes across the state.
Not even a single candidate managed to save their deposit in Chhattisgarh, making AAP’s worse performance in the current Assembly elections.
Furthermore, 22 of the 54 candidates received fewer votes compared to NOTA.
AAP lost deposit on 84 seats in Rajasthan
In Rajasthan, the voting took place on 25th November for all 199 seats. BJP emerged victorious in the elections with 115 seats. Incumbent Congress Party won only 69 seats. Interestingly, the Bharat Adivasi Party managed to win three seats in Rajasthan by a huge margin. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won two seats, Rashtriya Lok Sal (RLD) and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) won one seat each and independent candidates won eight seats in the state.
Speaking of AAP, the party fielded 85 candidates in the state assembly elections. All candidates combined received 1,48,709 votes across the state, which makes 0.38% of the total vote share. Interestingly, 0.96% of voters chose NOTA or None Of The Above. NOTA got 3,82,066 votes across the state.
Only one candidate, Kailash from Thanagazi, managed to save his deposit. The remaining 84 candidates lost their deposits.
Furthermore, 51 of the 85 candidates received fewer votes compared to NOTA.
OpIndia’s reports on how AAP lost deposits in the Gujarat Elections in 2022 can be seen here.
AAP should consider making the ‘losing deposits’ feature a part of their manifestos. Imagine AAP candidates knocking on doors armed with banners that read “Vote for AAP – The only party that celebrates defeat like no other!” and party workers donning t-shirts that read “We Lose Deposits”. The party’s commitment to losing deposits has reached such impressive heights that political analysts should not debate if it is a deliberate strategy of AAP leaders to save themselves from actual work.