Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra on Wednesday joined several AAP leaders in calling for introspection over the party's rout in the MCD polls, saying the loss cannot be blamed only on EVMs even as the party leadership alleged "rigging" of voting machines.
"This is the time to introspect why we had to see this day after two years. Whether it a Modi wave or not, it has become clear that people have not voted for us. Today's reality is we have got very few seats in comparison to the massive mandate we got in 2015. The results cannot be viewed only by blaming the EVMs," Mishra said.
He also admitted that looking at poll results, a "BJP wave" exists in Delhi.
Interestingly, senior AAP leader and labour Minister Gopal Rai had said there is "no Modi wave", but an "EVM wave," alleging tampering of electronic voting machines.
Several volunteers, the backbone of the party, are also refusing to buy the claims made by the leadership. An MlA from Central Delhi echoed the Minister's sentiments.
"The reasons are shocking as we did not expect to do so badly. Although the party blames EVMs for the defeat and we need to look into the reasons behind the loss, my view is different. But I shall toe the party line on this," the MlA said.
In Punjab, party MP Bhagwant Mann said there was no use in finding fault with EVMs and the party should introspect on the reasons behind its defeat in the recent Assembly polls.
He also slammed the leadership for "behaving like a 'mohalla' (local) cricket team," and said AAP had committed a "historic blunder" in Punjab with regard to the overall electoral strategy.