AAP's Uttarakhand CM Candidate Ajay Kothiyal Quits Party

This comes after the AAP saw a dismal defeat in the recently held Uttarakhand Assembly elections.

Ajay Kothiyal, who had been the Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face for the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly elections, resigned from the party on Wednesday, 18 May.

(Photo: PTI)

Ajay Kothiyal, the Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face for the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly elections, resigned from the party on Wednesday, 18 May.

“I was a member of the party from 19 April 2021 to 18 May 2022. Taking the sentiments of ex-army men, ex-paramilitary, senior citizens, intellectuals, women, and youth into account, I have resigned from the party,” Kothiyal said in a cryptic letter written to AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

This comes after the AAP saw a dismal defeat in the Uttarakhand polls, following which the party’s state unit was dissolved and Deepak Bali was appointed AAP Uttarakhand president.

AAP leader Jost Singh Bisht said that Kothiyal's decision was personal.

"He (Kothiyal) was among the senior leaders of the party. His decision to resign is personal as he has mentioned no reasons for it. Our good wishes for him for a bright future," Bisht was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Former working president of AAP Uttarakhand, Bhoopesh Upadhyay, also resigned on Wednesday.

"After becoming the working president of AAP, I realised it was far removed from the ideology and working style it professes," Upadhyay said in his letter to Kejriwal.

Colonel Kothiyal is a decorated officer of the Indian Army, and has been felicitated with gallantry awards including Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra, and Vishisht Seva Medal.

Kothiyal contested the elections on an AAP ticket from the Uttarkashi seat, and lost to BJP candidate Suresh Chauhan.