Karnataka election results: First poll as national party, AAP draws blank

Karam Prakash

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New Delhi, May 13

The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) first electoral battle after getting the national party status ended in a disappointment as it drew a blank in the Karnataka elections, the results of which were declared today.

Votes fewer than NOTA’s

• AAP’s vote share of around 0.58 per cent was even fewer than that of NOTA

Of the total 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly, AAP contested 208. Ending up with less than one per cent of vote share, a majority of its candidates lost their security deposits. AAP was fighting the elections for the second time in Karnataka. It had contested 29 seats in the 2018 poll.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party had sought votes in the name of Punjab and Delhi models, and was hoping to make its presence felt nationally by winning a few seats in the southern state.

Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, parliamentarians Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh had campaigned for the party.

The AAP’s vote share of around 0.58 per cent was even fewer than that of NOTA (none of the above). The percentage of people who voted for NOTA was 0.69. Senior AAP leader Brijesh Kalappa, who was fielded from the Chickpet Assembly seat, could manage only 600 votes.

On the party’s drubbing, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal said, “It is just a beginning. AAP will win seats one day.”

This is the second state in a row where AAP has failed to bag even a single seat. In December last year, it had performed miserably in the Himachal Pradesh election. There too, the party had failed to open its account.

Meanwhile, Karnataka AAP chief Prithvi Reddy tweeted: “Congratulations to 208 candidates, no shame when you have fought for truth and justice. We fought on an honest campaign and forced others to adopt our agenda of education and health. Fight will go on.”