The dates for the Rajya Sabha elections have been announced. Voting will be held for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh and one seat in Uttarakhand. Additionally, a by-election will be conducted for one seat in West Bengal; voting for this seat will take place on the same day. The term of office for the 10 Uttar Pradesh seats is set to expire in November. The notification will be issued on September 29. The last date for filing nominations is October 6, and scrutiny will take place the following day, October 7. The deadline for the withdrawal of candidature is October 9. Voting will be held on October 16, followed by the counting of votes and the declaration of results. Notably, all 10 seats belong to Uttar Pradesh. These Rajya Sabha elections will be closely watched ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled in UP next year. Of the 10 vacant seats in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP currently holds eight, while the SP and BSP (Ramji Gautam) hold one each. The incumbents for these seats include Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh, former DGP Brijlal, Geeta Shakya (alias Chandraprabha), Seema Dwivedi, BL Verma, Dinesh Sharma, senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, and Ramji Gautam (who has passed away). Regarding the Rajya Sabha elections, one seat is up for contest in Uttarakhand; BJP candidate Naresh Bansal is set to retire. Additionally, a by-election will be held for a seat in West Bengal following the resignation of Trinamool Congress MP Rukmani Malik. The tenure of 11 Rajya Sabha MPs will end on November 25.
Election Schedule: The notification for the election will be issued on September 29. The last date for filing nominations is October 6. Scrutiny will take place the following day, i.e., October 7. The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is October 9. Voting will be held on October 16 from 9 AM to 4 PM, followed by the counting of votes. The results will be declared on the same day.
Legislative Council Election Announcement: Additionally, election dates have been announced for 28 Legislative Council seats across four states. These include 11 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 8 in Bihar, 5 in Maharashtra, and 4 in Karnataka. Polling for all 28 seats will be held on October 23 from 8 AM to 4 PM. Vote counting will take place on October 27. The Election Commission has enforced the Model Code of Conduct in the concerned areas with immediate effect.
