AAP's Bhopal office locked over unpaid rent, party reacts
What's the story
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office in Bhopal was locked by the landlord over alleged non-payment of rent for three months.
The party's joint secretary in Madhya Pradesh, Ramakant Patel, reacted to the incident saying such things happen when one works with honesty.
"Right now, our party does not have funds. So we couldn't do it," he told PTI over the phone.
Financial challenges
Patel admits to financial struggles within AAP
Further, Patel revealed that the party runs on local funds and admitted that their workers are in a bad financial state.
He also admitted that he is unaware of the details of the unpaid rent and how long it has not been paid.
The incident has drawn reactions from political opponents with state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Narendra Saluja writing on X, "AAP's MP office locked, next number is of Congress."
Electoral challenges
AAP's electoral struggles continue in Madhya Pradesh
The office closure comes on the heels of a string of electoral losses for the AAP.
In the 2023 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, the party contested 66 seats but failed to win a single one and only got 0.53% of the vote share.
This was even less than the votes for the None of The Above (NOTA) option, which got 0.98%.
Past successes
AAP's past victories overshadowed by recent defeats
Despite these challenges, the AAP had earlier scored a remarkable win in the 2022 civic polls by winning the mayoral post in Singrauli.
However, their joy was short-lived as they were ousted from power in Delhi last month by the BJP, which won 48 out of 70 seats in the assembly election.
This was a major defeat for top AAP leaders including convenor Arvind Kejriwal and other senior leaders who lost their respective constituencies.