Despite running a high-voltage campaign in Haryana assembly elections and projecting Arvind Kejriwal as the 'son of the soil', the Aam Aadmi Party suffered a major setback and failed to open account in Haryana with leads suggesting that it is on course to draw a blank The AAP failed to make a mark in the Haryana assembly election as none of its candidates in the 90 seats are leading. However, the BJP on the other side is leading in close to 50 of the 90 assembly seats.
As per the Election Commission data, at 11.30 am, the BJP is leading in 48 seats. The Congress is leading in 36 seats and the INLD is leading in one seat and BSP is also leading in one seat. Four independent candidates are ahead in their respective seats.
Why AAP failed to open account in Haryana polls
No Alliance With Congress or Any Party
Ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls, the AAP could not stich alliance with Congress or any other party. This could be one of the reasons of why it failed to open account in Haryana. While local leaders of the Congress were not in favour of an alliance with the AAP, several leader in the Lok Sabha were learnt to have pushed for it, arguing that it would prevent a division of votes and give the opposition its best chance of defeating the BJP.
This time, the AAP contested 89 of Haryana's 90 seats after failing to stitch an alliance with the Congress.
No Prominet Face To Project in Haryana
The AAP's election campaign in Haryana was affected due to the absence of its key face Arvind Kejriwal in the lead up to the polls. However, after he was released from the jail on September 13, the party's campaign gained steam.
Moreover, there was no prominet face to project as the chief minister candidates in Haryana if AAP comes to power in state.
No Organisational Structure of AAP in State
The party lacked proper organisational structure in Haryana while preparing for the election which many believe that it could have impacted the party's performance in the elections.
Selection of Candidates
Reports have also emerged that there were several issues while selecting candidates for the Haryana Assembly Elections. There were rift within the party framework over selection of candidates for the polls.
No Clear Cut Strategy
There was no clear cut strategy adopted by the AAP for the Haryana assembly elections. The strong campaign strategy by the BJP overshodowed the AAP in the state which is beleived to have impacted its performance in the state.
How AAP performed in Haryana in 2019
The AAP in 2019 lost all the 46 seats it contested in Haryana and received a vote share of less than NOTA. it should be noted that the AAP has failed to open its account in any of the Assembly elections or the Lok Sabha polls in Haryana since its poll debut in 2014.
