The Aam Aadmi Party’s disastrous performance in Arvind Kejriwal’s home state of Haryana has raised concerns ahead of the elections in neighbouring Delhi where the party is seeking to maintain its grip after two full terms in power.

The AAP fielded candidates in 89 of the 90 seats in Haryana, including one who ran as an Independent. After submitting nominations, one candidate defected to the BJP and another to the Congress. The AAP failed to secure a single seat, losing its deposit in all but one constituency — Jagadhri — and got just 1.79 per cent of the total votes.

“The morale will naturally be low,” said an AAP source. “But it is also time for a pushback on the Congress. The post-Lok Sabha hype around them has faded…. We don’t mind giving them a few Assembly seats in Delhi to prevent the Muslim votes from getting split.”

The source added: “As Haryana borders Punjab, we are aware that the BJP’s unprecedented win can have an impact there too. Given our (Punjab) chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s health, we may bring Speaker Kultar Sandhwan to the cabinet in a high post….

“Our lesson from Haryana is we can’t depend on the Congress and that (leader of Opposition) Rahul Gandhi and his party’s state units are two separate entities which we need to learn to deal with separately.”

AAP candidates made an impression in Haryana’s urban constituencies of Panchkula and Rohtak, securing vote counts that exceeded the margins of victory.

The Congress won both seats, with the BJP coming second and the AAP third. The AAP had previously contested in alliance with the JJP. This time, they opted to go solo following an unsuccessful attempt to form a partnership with the Congress.

Party sources said that the AAP tacitly backed the Congress in several seats by strategically fielding candidates.

AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar told reporters on Wednesday: “In Delhi, AAP will contest alone. We are capable of fighting the overconfident Congress and arrogant BJP alone.”