NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party’s national ambitions suffered a big jolt with its electoral tally coming in way below expectations – a mere 20 from 117 constituencies in Punjab and zero in Goa. Now, there is a greater worry at hand in its crucial home base.Its stronghold in Delhi, where the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP got its first taste of power with an astounding electoral debut in 2013, may come under a cloud as soon as next week, when the Election Commission is due to decide whether to disqualify 21 party MLAs — who were appointed parliamentary secretaries — for taking an office of profit.While AAP’s hopes of expanding its footprint beyond the national capital have been dashed, the controversy around its MLAs threatens to unravel just ahead of the civic polls in Delhi, its core and sole base now.Both BJP and Congress have been waiting in the wings for EC’s verdict while preparing for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls.The Election Commission of India will hear the final arguments on the possible disqualification of the MLAs on March 16, and the signs, ET has learnt, don’t look good for the AAP. The issue, pending since December 2016, has been held up due to the assembly elections in five states that kept the EC busy.Those familiar with the case point out that AAP was aware the decision to appoint MLAs as parliamentary secretaries was not on sound legal footing, which was why it made various attempts to protect them, including amendments to the law that did not come to fruition. The Congress has strongly contested AAP’s arguments at EC hearings.Kejriwal made the appointments in March 2015 and his government passed an amendment to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997, in June 2015 to exempt the post of parliamentary secretary from the definition of office of profit with retrospective effect.AAP argued that this post did not qualify as an office of profit as there is no monetary benefit attached to it. The party’s efforts, however, got a jolt when President Pranab Mukherjee declined approval to the proposed amendment in June 2016 and the Delhi High Court set aside the order appointing the MLAs as parliamentary secretaries.