Retd Col Ajay Kothiyal AAP's CM Candidate for 2022 Uttarakhand Polls

"If voted to power, AAP will make Uttarakhand, the global spiritual capital for Hindus," Arvind Kejriwal said.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal with Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial candidate for Uttarakhand elections, retired Col Ajay Kothiyal, in Dehradun.

(Photo: PTI)

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, 17 August, announced that Colonel (retd) Ajay Kothiyal will be the party's chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, news agency PTI reported.

He made the announcement while speaking at a public gathering in the state. "If voted to power, AAP will make Uttarakhand, the global spiritual capital for Hindus and generate employment opportunities for the state's youths," Kejriwal was quoted as saying by PTI.

According to IANS, Kejriwal during his earlier visit to the state had announced free electricity up to 300 units for every household per month. He had also vowed to waive off all old electricity bills, if AAP wins the state elections next year.

Besides, Kejriwal had also said that his party will provide free electricity for agricultural purposes and promised to make the state free of powercuts.

Background

The ruling BJP and the Congress in the Opposition are the major contestants for Uttarakhand's assembly polls that is scheduled to take place in early 2022. The current BJP government in the state has seen changes in the chief ministers twice over the course of the last two months.

Meanwhile, AAP is also trying to make inroads into different states, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, ahead of Assembly polls next year. In December, last year, Kejriwal had said that his party will fight the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh to end the state's "dirty politics and the rampant corruption."

Early this year, the Delhi chief minister also expressed his party's intention to contest in all 182 seats in Gujarat.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)