DEHRADUN: AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced that retired Army colonel Ajay Kothiyal will be his party’s chief ministerial candidate in the next year’s Uttarakhand elections.“After consultation with the people of Uttarakhand, we have decided that Colonel (retd.) Ajay Kothiyal will be our CM candidate in Uttarakhand. The decision was been taken after we did a survey and asked people to choose thir candidate,” Kejriwal said at a press conference.
The election is due in March next year in Uttarakhand where the AAP is eyeing to topple the BJP government.“People of this state need patriots and honest people like Col Kothiyal. We all remember the Kedarnath tragedy. He was instrumental in the rebuilding of Kedarnath shrine and he did it with utmost efficiency and honesty,” asserted Kejriwal. On his part, Kothiyal thanked the people, Kejriwal and the party for his candidature. “I promise to serve the people with my best efforts and intent, in letter and spirit,” he said.
Later, Kejriwal also did a road show with Kothiyal in Dehradun which pulled enough crowd leaving many Uttarakhand political watchers surprised on the response. Thousands accompanied the procession which was replete with patriotic songs from Bollywood classics playing on loudspeakers in full volume.
Known for Kedarnath work
Affectionately called ‘Bhole ka fauji’, the former Army officer is known of his work after the Kedarnath flashfloods. Kothiyal oversaw the search and rescue operations. Under his supervision, the Kedarnath shrine was restored to its pristine form.