Retired Colonel Vijay Rawat, the brother of late Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttarakhand on Wednesday. The state will go to polls on February 14, and the results will be announced on March 10.

After joining the party, Vijay Rawat said that he admired Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “wise and futuristic vision”.

“I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to join BJP,” he said at the press conference. “My father was with BJP after retiring and now I’ve gotten a chance.”

Before formally joining the party, Vijay Rawat had praised the BJP and its leaders in Uttarakhand. “I like his [Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami] vision for the state,” Vijay Rawat had said, according to ANI. “It matches what my brother had in his mind. BJP has same mindset.”

Bipin Rawat and 12 others, including his wife Madhulika Rawat, had died when their helicopter crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, on December 8. The only survivor, Air Force group Captain Varun Singh, had also succumbed to his injuries on December 15.