In Himachal, AAP scores less than NOTA on several seats; loses deposit in almost all

Before the results of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls were out, the Aam Aadmi Party campaigned heavily all across the state with 'Ek Mauka Kejriwal ko...' as its slogan. They even tried very hard to convince the citizens with 'free electricity, free water' promises. However, not only were they defeated in the polls, AAP candidates even lost to NOTA on 24 seats.

The Kejriwal-led party contested 67 seats and lost the deposit on nearly all of them. At least one-sixth or 16.7 percent of the total valid votes cast must be secured by a candidate in a constituency to save the deposit. AAP managed to secure over 1,000 votes at 14 seats, and only 1.10 percent of votes in the state.

A candidate must get over one-sixth of the total number of valid votes cast in the constituency, to save the deposit. If they fail to secure the required number of votes, they will lose the deposit, and the Election Commission of India will not return it back.  According to the Representation of People Act, 1951, it is compulsory for party candidates in an election to deposit a certain amount as a security deposit with the ECI.  

The 'None Of The Above' option allows voters to indicate that they do not wish to vote for the options available. Altogether the NOTA vote share was about 0.60 percent. In constituencies such as Dalhousie, Kasumpti, Chopal, Arki, Chamba, and Churah more people voted for NOTA than AAP.

Why AAP lost Himachal Pradesh 

The poor performance of AAP dashed its hope of emerging as a strong third force in the state to challenge the hegemony of BJP and Congress, which have been alternately ruling the state for almost four decades. AAP which mounted its campaign on a high note a month before the November 12 elections with party convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann holding rallies and road shows failed to maintain the tempo till the end as the top party leadership shifted focus to Gujarat.

The absence of a mass leader demoralised the workers and the arrest of Satyendar Jain and raids on the premises of Manish Sisodia further dampened the spirits of the candidates.

The party fielded candidates on 67 out of 68 seats – the exception being the Darang assembly constituency - but maintained silence on its Chief Minister's face, with no tall leader in the state to carry on the campaign.

(With agency inputs)