Ajay Kothiyal

Colonel

Ajay Kothiyal

KC, SC, VSM
Born (1969-02-26) 26 February 1969 (age 55)
Tehri, Uttarakhand, India
AllegianceIndia
Service/branchIndian Army
Years of service1992–2018
RankColonel
Service numberIC-51821X[1]
UnitThe Garhwal Rifles
Commands held4th Battalion/Nuranang Battalion; 10th Battalion, of The Garhwal Rifles
Battles/warsKargil War
Awards Kirti Chakra
Shaurya Chakra
Vishisht Seva Medal
Spouse(s)Unmarried
RelationsInspector General (Retd.) Satyasharan Kothiyal (father); Late. Sushila Kothiyal (mother)
Other workPrincipal of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering;[2] Founder of Youth Foundation Uttarakhand, India[3]
WebsiteYouth Foundation Uttarakhand
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Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM (Retd) is an Indian politician and a former officer of the Indian Army . He is a BJP leader, earlier he was leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was the CM Candidate for 2022 Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly elections. Kothiyal lost the election to BJP candidate in Gangotri Assembly constituency. In May 2022, he resigned from AAP and joined BJP.[4]

He is also a mountaineer and philanthropist, and was the principal of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), Uttarakhand.[5][6]

He was the head of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi when the institute was given the task of rescue and rehabilitation around the Kedarnath temple, after its destruction by a flash flood in 2013. Kothiyal is unmarried. His non-profit trust, "Youth Foundation" trains young boys and girls from Uttarakhand to join the Indian Army.[7] He was given the Uttarakhand Ratna award in 2016 for his contribution to uplift and provide employment to youth of Uttarakhand.[8]

  1. ^ "63rd Republic Day: The gallantry award winners : IC-51821X COLONEL AJAY KOTHIYAL, KIRTI CHAKRA, SHAURYA CHAKRA, GARHWAL RIFLES". rediff.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Principal Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM". NIM. NIM. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  3. ^ "TEAM & GOVERNING BODY Founded by Colonel Ajay Kothiyal KC, SC, VSM on 13 Jul 2013". Youth Foundation. Youth Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  4. ^ "AAP CM face in Uttarakhand polls Colonel Ajay Kothiyal joins BJP". The Hindu. 24 May 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Colonel Ajay Kothiyal Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra, Visisht Seva Medal". Youth Foundation. Youth Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi". NIM Uttarkashi. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Meet Col Ajay Kothiyal Who Has Trained Over 1900 Youth For Indian Army". The Logical Indian. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  8. ^ "नरेंद्र सिंह नेगी और कर्नल अजय कोठियाल को उत्तराखंड रत्न". Amar Ujala. Retrieved 20 July 2019.