'ELECTION RESULTS SHOWED AAP UNAWARE OF GROUND REALITIES'

Even NOTA got more votes than AAP in the states that went to the polls.

- RAHUL CHHABRA

The Aam Aadmi Party, which recently qualified as a national party, failed to open its account in the just-concluded Assembly elections, but this did not stop the party from claiming that there was no serious threat to its future.

While some party leaders gave the excuse that the AAP contested elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as a matter of formality to ensure that it continued enjoying its national party status, others said the party was still young and would need more time to spread its wings to take on older parties like the Congress.

The AAP contested 66 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 85 in Rajasthan and 54 in Chhattisgarh. However, it failed to win even one seat.

The AAP got less votes than the NOTA (none of the above) option.

Despite a disastrous outing in the Assembly elections in the heartland, the AAP has stuck to its posturing and claims to be the second largest political party in north India where it rules two state-Delhi and Punjab.