Uttarakhand Assembly polls 2022: Col (retd) Ajay Kothiyal to be AAP's CM face

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has named Ajay Kothiyal, a retired army colonel, as its chief ministerial candidate for the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly polls.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is AAP’s convener, made the announcement in Dehradun on Tuesday.

Kejriwal, who held a roadshow in the city, promised to develop Uttarakhand as a spiritual capital for Indians staying across the world. He said it would generate employment too.


At a press conference, Kejriwal said the people of Uttarakhand are fed up with the politicians helming the state.

Kothiyal is known in Uttarakhand for his contribution in the reconstruction of the area around Kedarnath in the aftermath of the 2013 flash floods. Kothiyal, who served in the army for about 27 years, was also the principal of the Uttarkashi-based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM). He is also associated with the organisation ‘Youth Foundation’, which helps youths of the hilly areas prepare for joining the army and central para military forces. AAP’s decision to pick Kothiyal is politically significant in view of the presence of a large number of serving and retired army men across the state. Kothiyal has been constantly touring the state to woo the youth through his programme ‘Samvad’.

Kothiyal faces a tough task of politically challenging the state’s two mainstream parties--the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress. Apart from the Garhwal region, which remains his main area of work, Kothiyal has been touring different parts of Kumaon region to expand his party’s base.