Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday asserted that it has decided not to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra ‘as of now’. Party’s National Spokesperson Preeti Sharma said, “The party will fight Lok Sabha polls in four states – Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Goa. But, it has decided not to contest in Maharashtra”

She added, “As of now, we are not contesting any seat in Maharashtra, but the party may take a view on a few seats if we feel it will help defeat the BJP,” Ms Menon said reportedly.

Pointing guns towards BJP and Prime Minister, She said, The party [AAP] wants to save democracy from the “clutches” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, so “we will devote all our strength on the seats where we are certain we can defeat them”.

Reacting on the Development, former AAP leader Mayank Gandhi said the decision shows the party is “dead” in Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats – the second highest number after Uttar Pradesh which has 80 parliamentary constituencies.

“Encouraging the worst kind of leadership at the behest of volunteers destroyed AAP’s ethos and soul. Only self-seeking people are left in the party now,” Mayank Gandhi said.

Mr Gandhi said if the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, which rules the Delhi Assembly, contests in Maharashtra, it may not even get a few thousand votes and become a “laughing stock”. Notably, the party had drawn a blank in the state in the 2014 general elections.

AAP since last two years has suffered a setback in Maharashtra after its prominent leaders like Mayank Gandhi and Anjali Damania quit the party.

Another AAP Dissident leader Ravi Srivastava, who was one of its founder members, said the party’s position in Maharashtra was quite “weak”, so it was a wise decision not to contest the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

“The AAP fared very badly in the recent Assembly polls in Hindi heartland states. It couldn’t garner more than the NOTA (none of the above option for voters) votes polled. Assembly Elections 2018: NOTA bags more votes than SP, AAP, CPM, others

The party has miserably failed to expand its base outside Delhi and even its MPs and MLAs are quitting. So, it is a wise decision,” he said as reported by NDTV.

ALSO READ: AAP to contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, ‘People want a Change’ says Arvind Kejriwal

By talharashid

Part-time Traveler| Full-time Political Enthusiast | Foodie | Strong Believer of Freedom of Speech and Expressions!

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