Dehradun: The condition of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who is recuperating from a neck injury at AIIMS in Delhi, has improved and he is keen to come to Dharchula to file his nominations for July 21 bypoll to the Assembly seat, PCC president Kishore Upadhayay today said.
“There is improvement in the chief minister's condition and he wants to be present in Dharchula before the returning officer to file his papers but his final decision will depend on what the doctors advise him to do,” Upadhayay said on his return from Delhi where he went to hand over to Rawat the party's symbol as its official nominee for the seat.
Nominations for the bypoll begin on July 2.
However, as per revised Election Commission guidelines, it is not mandatory for the candidate to be present before the returning officer at the time of his nomination and his proposer can represent him with proper documents.
Rawat sustained a neck injury during a rough chopper ride to Delhi on June 14 and he has been at AIIMS since.
Upadhayay said party nominees for the two other assembly seats of Someshwar and Doiwala i.e Hira Singh Bisht and Rekha Arya will also file their nominations on July 2.
Bypoll to the Dharchula seat is being held after Harish Dhami vacated it for the chief minister, whereas Doiwala and Someshwar (reserved) fell vacant after sitting BJP MLAs from the seats Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank and Ajay Tamta were elected recently to the Lok Sabha.