The best thing about the Lok Sabha election for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is that it is over.

The AAP, which won four seats with a vote share of 25% in its first Lok Sabha elections in 2014, slumped badly this time. The party not only got just one seat, its vote share of 7.36% is less than a third of what it polled in its first electoral outing in Punjab five years ago.

Barring state unit president Bhagwant Mann, all other party candidates forfeited their security deposits. Of its 13 candidates, eight could not get even 5% of the votes polled in their constituencies.

Mann’s victory margin of 1.10 lakh votes, though lower than 2.11 lakh votes in 2014, was the only consolation victory for the party and came in the face of a massive challenge from the ruling Congress’ Kewal Singh Dhillon and five-time Akali legislator Parminder Singh Dhindsa. He will be the only AAP MP in Lok Sabha this time.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, whose popularity helped it become the formidable third force in the previous Lok Sabha elections, had tried to give a push to poll campaign in the last leg of elections. He held rallies and roadshows, but did not work.

The Sangrur victory is being credited to the stand-up comedian-turned-politician’s own people connect in his constituency. The rout is a huge setback for the state’s principal opposition party, but it was not entirely unexpected.

The AAP, which got 20 seats in the 2017 state polls, was left in total disarray by unabated squabbles and frequent splits. A pale shadow of its former self, the party had to struggle to find candidates for several of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies and its electoral challenge was limited to just one seat.

Mann, the face of the party in Punjab, also remained caught up in his own fight and did not go out much to campaign for other candidates.

AAP REBELS’ FLOP SHOW

Rebel AAP leaders Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, Baldev Singh and Jassi Jasraj, who left the party in run-up to the parliamentary polls, also failed to save their security deposits. Khaira and Baldev Singh, MLAs from Bholath and Jaitu, who set up their separate Punjab Ekta Party, polled just 3.17% and 4.51% votes in Bathinda and Faridkot seats, respectively. Dr Gandhi, sitting MP from Patiala, did a tad better with 13.72% of the total votes polled.

First Published: May 24, 2019 13:55 IST