Who is Col (retd) Ajay Kothiyal, Aam Aadmi Party’s CM face in Uttarakhand?

Col Ajay Kothiyal (R) and Manish Sisodia in Uttarakhand.

After a stellar show in Delhi for a second term, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party will be testing the waters in more states this time including that in Goa, Gujarat and Uttarakhand. AAP has named Col (retd) Ajay Kothiyal has been named the party’s chief ministerial face for the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly polls. The party has already announced that it will contest all 70 seats in the state.

Kothiyal joined AAP in April this year and the party had decided to field him from the Gangotri Assembly constituency in bypolls amid speculation that the then CM Tirath Singh Rawat may contest from there. However, Tirath resigned as CM and the by-poll has not yet been announced.

Kothiyal had served in the Indian Army for around 27 years. Former principal of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at Uttar kashi, Kothiyal had played a crucial role in the reconstruction of the areas around Kedarnath Temple in the aftermath of the 2013 tragedy.

Delhi Deputy CM and AAP leader Manish Sisodia who was in Uttarakhand recently said that people of the state want honest leaders like Kothiyal. “In front of the people of Uttarakhand, on one hand, there is a corrupt Chief Minister of BJP. On the other hand, a staunch patriot Col Ajay Kothiyal. I ask voters- Should a person like Colonel Kothiyal be the future Chief Minister of Uttarakhand or corrupt leaders from the BJP?” said Sisodia.

Both Sisodia and Kothiyal offered prayers at Jeevandeep Ashram in Roorkee.

Kothiyal and other AAP workers are also spearheading a registration programme in Uttarakhand in wake of the party’s promise of 300 units of free electricity every month.

Recently, the BJP government led by Pushkar Singh Dhami announced 100 units of free electricity for domestic consumers amid a relentless campaign by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).