Despite drubbing in LS polls, Mann says AAP won 3 seats, vote share also increased

Chandigarh: Despite his party facing a drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said the AAP won three of the total 13 seats and its vote share also increased as compared to the 2019 general elections.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress dealt a blow to the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP and SAD, winning seven of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the high-stakes polls in Punjab even as two independents registered a surprise victory.

The AAP could manage to win only three seats -- Anandpur Sahib, Hoshiarpur and Sangrur -- as against the target of winning all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in the just-concluded general elections.

Replying to a question on the AAP's performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Mann said that his party had won only one seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and its vote share was just 7.50 per cent.

"This time, we won three seats. We wrested the Sangrur seat, which is our stronghold," Mann told reporters in Mohali after offering prayers at a gurdwara on the occasion of the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev.

He said the AAP's vote share also increased to 26 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Mann said while the Congress got 35.50 lakh votes, the AAP polled 35.20 lakh votes in the elections.

Commenting on the rival parties' performance, the chief minister said the Congress party's vote share declined from 40 per cent in 2019 to 26 per cent this time.

The BJP, which drew a blank, lost its stronghold Hoshiarpur, he said.

Mann said many of the candidates of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) lost their security deposits.

The AAP leader said his party is reviewing the poll outcome and added that wherever there were shortcomings, they will be removed.

Responding to a question, Mann slammed the BJP for its slogan of '400 paar', saying the saffron party fell short of the majority mark.

"Now they (BJP) do not call the Modi government. They have started saying the NDA government. They have realised that they fell short of the majority mark. Now the dictatorship, which they earlier did, will not work now," he said.

Mann further said big faces in the BJP like Smriti Irani and Arjun Munda lost the elections.