We are ready for re-election, says Kejriwal

The AAP leader said the similarity of party's election symbol ‘broom' and ‘torch', which was given to some “dummy” independent candidates in about eight to nine constituencies, was the reason they lost in those constituencies.

He said exit polls had also harmed the party, as the results came in the evening but polling continued till 9:30 PM.

“Because of this, most of these votes were polled in favour of BJP,” Kejriwal said, adding that in these constituencies, AAP lost by a wafer-thin margin.

Kejriwal, who defeated three-time Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit from New Delhi constituency, admitted that his party had failed to leave an impact on rural voters.

“They had shown immense support to us during campaigning but it did not translate into votes. We were a bit disappointed by the voting pattern in villages,” he said.  

Asked how the party would go ahead if re-elections are held, he said AAP would campaign more vigorously.  “This time, during the month-long ‘Jhadu Chalao Yatra' (roadshow), we had to cover three constituencies in a day and sometimes, due to time constraints, we had to leave some of them. But now, we will have ample time and we can cover one constituency per day and establish contact with more people,” said Kejriwal, who was unanimously elected as the leader in the Delhi Assembly by the AAP legislators.  

Asked about the possibility of his party going to Lok Sabha elections in 2014, the AAP leader said, “We are planning our strategy about how many seats and in which states we should contest.”