On 7/12/2022 votes of Delhi Municipal Corporation election were counted. AAP won 134 out of 250 seats. BJP lost power after 15 years.
On 8/12/2022 votes of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections were counted. Arvind Kejriwal had talked of AAP winning in Gujarat. Isudan Gadhvi was CM candidate. AAP won 5 seats out of 182, BJP 156, Congress 17, SP 1 and Independents 3. Isudan Gadhvi did not win. AAP’s vote share was 12.92%.
AAP contested 67 seats out of 68 in Himachal Pradesh and lost all. It had trouble with CM candidates. Two left and joined BJP. AAP leaders thought it was a hopeless case and abandoned it. AAP’s vote share was 1.10%. Congress won 40 out of 68, BJP 25 and Independents 3.
However, AAP had a consolation prize. It became a national party. It was a state party in Delhi, Punjab and Goa. Getting 6% or more votes made it a state party in Gujarat and by being a state party in four states it became a national party. It joined the list of BJP, BSP, Congress, CPI, CPI(M), NCP, NNP and TMC. Same day Election Commission approved name change of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and it became Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS).
AAP has no member in Lok Sabha and has 10 members in Rajya Sabha. It had won 4 seats in 2014 and 1 seat in 2019 in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann was the winner in 2019. When he became CM he resigned Lok Sabha seat. In the ensuing election AAP lost.
Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann and other AAP leaders had campaigned extensively in Gujarat. They were regularly in news. They talked of Delhi model and promised freebies. Majority of voters did not want freebies.
For a party that began on 26/11/2012 AAP has made good progress in 10 years. To remain national party it will have to contest elections in many states and have 6% vote share. It does not have great leaders in states. Many who were in AAP in 2012 or later are out of it. It will have to win Lok Sabha seats. To be PM one should have support of 272 members in Lok Sabha. Arvind Kejriwal has competition from KCR, Mamata Banerjee and many others.