Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that Colonel (retd.) Ajay Kothiyal will be the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate for Uttarakhand where elections are due to be held early next year.
“Ajay Kothiyal will be the AAP Chief Ministerial candidate of Uttarakhand. Party will develop the state as a spiritual capital for Indians staying across the world. It will also provide employment to youth,” Kejriwal, who is on a two-day visit to the state, said while addressing party workers in Dehradun.
Colonel Kothiyal is a veteran of the Indian Army and the former principal of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) in Uttarkashi. Kothiyal had served in the Indian Army for around 27 years.
He joined AAP earlier in April this year. He is also well known for his work in the aftermath of the Kedarnath disaster. He now manages an institute that trains and motivates local youths to join the armed forces.
The Aam Aadmi Party has already announced that it will contest all 70 seats in the state.
The party had earlier 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.
