It was to have been a day of celebrations. But as it became clear that the AAP had lost badly in Punjab and Goa, gloom enveloped Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in Delhi.

Ever since the February 4 election ended in both the states, the Aam Aadmi Party was supremely confident of taking office in Punjab although its claims were muted vis-a-vis Goa. As late as last week, AAP leader and Punjab's election strategist Sanjay Singh boasted that the party would not win less than 100 of the 117 seats, wiping out both the Congress and the ruling Akali Dal-BJP combine.

When the votes were counted on Saturday, the reverse happened. The Akali-BJP did lose but the Congress stormed back to power with a thumping majority. The AAP was left with just 23 seats or so. AAP activists, stunned into silence, slowly began dispersing from outside Kejriwal's residence, taking away the brooms -- the party symbol -- they had brought along. Shock and disappointment was writ large on everyone's face. Many refused to speak to journalists. Slowly, arrangements made for the announcement of the election results from Punjab and Goa were removed.

In Goa, the AAP fared much worse, not winning even one seat. The Aam Aadmi Party, which ran a high-profile election campaign in Goa, has not been able to secure a victory in the state assembly polls. Barring the Benalium constituency in South Goa, where AAP's Royla Fernandes emerged second, losing to Nationalist Congress Party's Churchill Alemao by a margin of 5,191 seats, the party has not been able to corner a first runner-up position in any of the 20 seats whose results have been declared till around 2 pm.

A large TV screen placed outside Kejriwal's residence displaying the live trends and results was switched off as the day progressed. AAP workers also removed the tricolour balloons used to decorate the street leading to Kejriwal's residence. An audio system, playing songs since the morning about the AAP and its election symbol broom, was switched off. The big speakers were removed by around 1 p.m. Soon after, the entire area wore a deserted look.

The AAP on Saturday said it was disappointed over losing the Punjab election but added that becoming the main opposition in the border state was also an achievement. The Aam Aadmi Party said its leadership will meet soon and introspect what went wrong. "We were hoping to form a government in Punjab. We are disappointed with the result," party spokesperson Ashutosh said.