AAP finishes poll race behind NOTA

New Delhi : The AAP got less votes than those cast in favour of NOTA in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls on Thursday and is set to lose in all the 70 seats it had contested in the two states.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had fielded candidates in 46 of the 90 seats in Haryana, while in Maharashtra, it had contested 24 seats. According to the Election Commission (EC), most candidates of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party secured less than 1,000 votes in the two states and were set to lose to their security deposits.

The vote share of the AAP stood at 0.48 per cent in Haryana, while for NOTA (none of the above), it was 0.53 per cent, according to the EC. In Maharashtra, the party got 0.11 per cent votes, while NOTA's vote share was 1.37 per cent.

The AAP had formed an alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) in Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls held in April-May, but after a crushing defeat, it had called off the tie-up. The Dushyant Chautala-led JJP won 10 seats in the Haryana Assembly polls and is expected to play the kingmaker's role in the state.

The AAP had, in its manifesto for the Haryana polls, promised Rs 1 crore to the next of kin of those armed forces personnel who were killed in the line of duty, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report and a drugs-free state.

The Kejriwal-led party had promised to "re-engineer" Maharashtra, which, according to it, was "reduced to a failed state". Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal did not campaign in Haryana, but addressed a rally in support of AAP candidate Paromita Goswami in Maharashtra's Brahmapuri. Goswami secured 3,555 votes in the election.