The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday said "as of now" it has decided not to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. The party will fight Lok Sabha polls in four states - Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Goa. But, it has decided not to contest in Maharashtra, AAP's national spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon told PTI on Monday. "As of now, we are not contesting any seat in Maharashtra, but the party may take a view on a few seats if we feel it will help defeat the BJP," she said.

The party wants to save democracy from the "clutches" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, so "we will devote all our strength on the seats where we are certain we can defeat them," Menon said. However, former AAP leader Mayank Gandhi said the decision shows the party is "dead" in Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats - the second highest number after Uttar Pradesh which has 80 parliamentary constituencies.