Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener on Tuesday announced Col Ajay Kothiyal (Retd) as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the 2022 assembly polls in Uttarakhand. Kejriwal also announced that AAP will turn the state into the spiritual capital for Hindus across the world.
Kejriwal, who is on a day-long visit to Dehradun, said people of Uttarakhand don’t want politicians but a patriot like Kothiyal who has fought for the country …who still carries two bullets in his body and one who has played a major role in the reconstruction of Kedarnath after the 2013 tragedy.
Sometime back, Manish Sisodia [deputy CM, Delhi] had come here to find out who the people wanted as their CM. We carried out surveys regarding our CM candidate. And we got an overwhelming response for Col Kothiyal as the CM face,” he said, adding, “So it is the choice of the people of Uttarakhand.”
Col Ajay Kothiyal (Retd) said it is a matter of pride for him that the party has given them the responsibility to lead it in the coming elections. Recalling his role in the reconstruction of Kedarnath, he said nothing is impossible if one is determined.
“If we want to do something good in the state, we have to bring AAP model of governance here. I was impressed by this model and that is why I joined AAP,” he said.
Later, Kejriwal and Col Ajay Kothiyal participated in a roadshow, Devbhoomi Sankalp Yatra, from Ghantaghar to Dilaram Chowk in Dehradun.
Kothiyal joined AAP in April this year in the presence of the party’s state unit president SS Kaler in Haridwar. The party, which would be contesting on all the 70 seats in the state assembly, is banking on his army background and his popularity to work in its favour.
With less than a year left for the state assembly elections, AAP is pulling out all stops in wooing the public. On his last visit on July 11, Kejriwal announced 300 units of free electricity to domestic consumers if AAP came to power. He stressed on replicating AAP’s Delhi model of governance in Uttarakhand. He had said if voted to power, his party will bring a major change in the schools and health infrastructure.
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