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Uttarakhand AAP’s CM face Ajay Kothiyal joins BJP, calls it course correction
Col Ajay Kothiyal (retd) said his decision to join AAP in 2021 was a mistake and was driven by emotions.
Mussoorie: Col Ajay Kothiyal (retd), the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) presumptive chief minister in the recently concluded Uttarakhand on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), declaring that his previous decision to enrol in AAP was a mistake and the decision to join the BJP, “course correction”.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Uttarakhand BJP president Madan Kaushik, who welcomed the former army officer into the party, said Kothiyal’s decision will strengthen the BJP. “As the son of an army officer, I am happy that I am today welcoming a decorated army officer. Our party has always been very respectful and sensitive towards army personnel,” he said at an event in Dehradun where Kothiyal, a recipient of gallantry medals, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra, formally joined the party.
Kaushik said 700 supporters of Col Kothiyal were also joining the BJP. “I welcome Ajay Kothiyal and his supporters into the party fold,” he said.
Ajay Kothiyal joined AAP in April 2021 and was presented as the party’s chief ministerial face. He contested the assembly election in February from the remote border district of Uttarkashi but was a distant third with just a little over 6,000 votes. Suresh Chauhan of the BJP won the seat with 29,000 votes and the runner-up, Vijaypal Singh Sajwan, secured over 21,000 votes.
AAP failed to win a single seat in the state where it had hoped to emerge as the lead opposition party and had fielded candidates on all 70 seats. The party, however, won just about a 3% vote share.
Kothiyal said his decision to join AAP was a mistake and was driven by emotions.
“I joined AAP as I thought it will help me in working more proactively for the people of the state. After getting into AAP, I realised I made a mistake. Today I am very happy to join the BJP family. Now my team will be BJP’s team”, he promised.
To be sure, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal responded to the party’s dismal performance in the state elections by dissolving the party’s state unit and all the 13 district units April 29. Deepak Bali, who like others in the state leadership contested and lost the election - Bali contested on the Kashipur seat in Kumaon - was appointed as the new state unit president. Kothiyal eventually resigned from AAP on May 18.
