Dehradun, Mar 22 (PTI) Former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and sitting MP Ajay Tamta on Friday filed their nominations as the BJP's candidates from Haridwar and Almora constituencies for the Lok Sabha polls.

Rawat filed his nomination virtually in the presence of sitting MP from Haridwar and former CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, along with party MLAs and scores of his supporters.

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"It marks the beginning of a new journey in my political career. From being an MLA from Doiwala to filing nomination today as a candidate for the Lok Sabha from the pilgrimage city, it has been an emotional journey for me," Rawat said in a Facebook post soon after filing his nomination.

"I assure the people of Haridwar constituency that they will always find me standing by their side through thick and thin. The wave of development is not going to stop," he added.

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Tamta filed his nomination in the presence of state BJP president Mahendra Bhatt and Didihat MLA Vishan Singh Chufal.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami addressed a public meeting in Almora soon after Tamta filed his nomination and appealed to the people to vote for the BJP candidate.

"He has been working relentlessly to serve the people of his constituency," Dhami said about Tamta.

Tamta won the Almora parliamentary seat two times in a row in 2014 and 2019. This time, he will once again face his traditional rival Pradeep Tamta of the Congress whom he defeated in the last two Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress is yet to announce its candidate for Haridwar.

Elections to the five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand are to be held in the first phase on April 19.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)