People knew AAP was not in a state to form govt: Gandhi

Aam Aadmi Party leader Mayank Gandhi today said voters were convinced that AAP was 'not in a state' to form government at this stage.

"Aam Aadmi Party was not in a state to form a decisive government at this time and people were well aware of this. Since Arvind Kejriwal had resigned as the chief minister of Delhi in 49 days, people felt that he had abandoned his responsibility. Indian voters wanted a strong and a decisive government this time," Gandhi told PTI.

Corruption was the last thing on the minds of people this time or AAP would have performed much better than it did, the AAP's national executive member said.

"People are well aware that Modi and his party receive large funds from corporates," he alleged, adding "But corruption did not matter too much in these elections."

"It was only about a strong and decisive government this time, which people felt only Modi could provide. This mindset developed due to large amount of money being spent on the brand called Modi," he further alleged.

The candidates of any party did not matter as this election was only about Modi, he said."People have voted for or against Modi. The candidates of BJP or their allies did not matter. Even a lamp post would have won if it was associated with Modi. And a small group of people that didn't want Modi to become the Prime Minister voted for the Congress, which they believed could stop Modi," he claimed.

To a query, Gandhi said AAP will continue to introspect and correct itself, and that these elections have helped it build up the organisation.

"We are fairly new in politics. It did not matter whether the organisation was good or bad or if our candidates were strong or weak. The Modi 'tsunami' swept over us. But we have now been able to make our presence felt even at polling booth levels, which will undoubtedly help us in Assembly elections," he said.

When asked about AAP not winning a single LS seat in Delhi, Gandhi said, "People in Delhi have not lost faith in AAP at all. It was only for the central leadership that people voted for BJP candidates. AAP will sweep Delhi in the Assembly elections," he claimed.