Aam Aadmi Party draws a blank in Karnataka

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) put up a dismal performance in Karnataka assembly elections. AAP candidates could win a single seat out of 28 seats across the state.

Prominent Karnataka AAP Convener Prithvi Chinthapalli Reddy and Renuka Viswanathan, a retired IAS officer were prominent faces in the fray. Prithvi Reddy contested against KJ George in Sarvajna Nagar. Renuka Viswanathan contested from the Shanthinagar seat, now held by Congress MLA NA Haris.

In fact, the party leadership was criticised by Bengalureans for staying away from the BBMP election while the party was riding a wave of popularity in Delhi. Though the party had contested in the 2014 general elections, it was able to garner just about 0.8% vote share in the state.

The debacle in Karnataka is a repetition of its debacle in Goa assembly election. The AAP did not win a single seat in the 40-member Goa legislature. Elvis Gomes, AAP's chief ministerial nominee in Goa, was pushed to the fourth position in the Cuncolim constituency in South Goa, from where Congress nominee Clafasio Dias won by just 33 votes.

Of the 39 AAP candidates who contested from Goa, 38 have lost their deposits. The party put up a decent show only on Benaulim seat where its nominee polled more than 4,000 votes.