The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headquarters in Delhi was deserted, with only a few number of party workers and journalists present at the premises on Saturday.
A stage was put up with several chairs and a big live television screen and two podiums- in what appeared as a plan to celebrate and address the Karyakartas and the media in case of a possible win.
However, what was supposed to be a venue for a grand victory celebration actually turned out to be a place where the party Karyakartas looked upset with some even breaking down on camera.
The AAP has been subjected to a humiliating and crushing defeat at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The saffron has returned to power in the Union Territory of Delhi after a long gap of 27 years as it won 48 of the 70 seats in the assembly elections on Saturday. AAP was placed second with 22 seats and the Congress drew a blank for a third straight time.
Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal lost his own seat in New Delhi to former two-time BJP MP Parvesh Verma, the son of another former Chief Minister, by 4,089 votes.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia also conceded his defeat in Delhi’s Jangpura constituency. BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah won that seat.
A woman Karyakarta named Gudiya, 60, broke down while speaking to us, expressing her grief over the big election loss. “Kejriwal is like my son. He is our beta. We are worried our free bus ride scheme will be disbanded. BJP distributed money and no action was taken. They will do nothing for the poor now that they are back in power. Where will the poor people of Delhi go,” she said.
Two other senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain also lost their seats to the BJP. Bharadwaj, who is Delhi’s health minister, was defeated by BJP’s Shikha Roy in Greater Kailash by a margin of more than 3,100 votes, as per the Election Commission. Satyendar Jain was defeated by BJP’s Karnail Singh in Shakur Basti by a margin of almost 21,000 votes.
Another party worker named Saad Alam, who told us that he’s a supporter of AAP since 2014, claimed that Kejriwal doesn’t meet party Karyakartas. “Kuch to khaami hogi (there must be some mistake). I’ve been working for the party election after election but I’ve not met the party Supremo till date despite multiple requests,” he said.
“I couldn’t attend my younger daughter’s wedding as I was busy in election campaigning for AAP in Jalandhar. They say kartyakartas are the backbone of the party. And then they don’t have time to meet us. This was destined to happen,” he added.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi managed to hold on to South Delhi’s Kalkaji seat despite the BJP’s massive victory in the national capital. She defeated BJP’s former MP Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress’s Alka Lamba.
Pramod Kumar Sharma, another Aam Aadmi Party worker who came all the way from Bathinda, Punjab, said that AAP hasn’t lost trust of the public and will work hard to snatch the power seat from the BJP. “We did so much Delhi but the most saddening part is that Kejriwal ji himself lost his seat,” he said.
Sharma expressed the same concerns as Alam and said that “Kejriwal ji meets big party leaders but not the Karyakartas and hence they feel demotivated and have gone silent.”
AAP candidate from Matia Mahal Aaley Mohammad Iqbal registered the highest victory margin of 42,724 votes in the polls, defeating BJP’s Deepti Indora, according to the Election Commission’s (EC) data.
Delhi, with 1.55 crore eligible voters, recorded a turnout of 60.54 per cent in the February 5 elections.
