The Election Commission of India on Monday announced the schedule for elections to 27 seats in the Rajya Sabha and state legislative councils, with polling set to be held on June 18.
According to the poll panel, biennial elections will be conducted for 24 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant across 10 states, while by-elections will be held for three Upper House vacancies in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.
The Commission also announced elections to legislative council seats in Bihar and Karnataka. In Bihar, biennial elections will be held for nine seats, while a by-election will be conducted for one additional seat. Karnataka will go to polls for seven legislative council seats.
As per the schedule, the notification for the elections was issued on June 1, with the filing of nominations commencing the same day.
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Candidates can submit their nomination papers until June 8. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on June 9, while June 11 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of candidature.
Polling for all seats will be conducted on June 18 between 8 am and 4 pm. Counting of votes will begin at 5 pm on the same day, and results are expected to be declared shortly thereafter.
The elections are being held as part of the regular biennial cycle for Rajya Sabha and legislative council seats whose members are set to retire. The by-elections are aimed at filling vacancies that arose before the completion of the incumbents' terms.
The Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament, has a staggered retirement system under which one-third of its members retire every two years, necessitating periodic elections by elected members of state legislative assemblies.
The announcement sets in motion the electoral process for filling key vacancies in Parliament and state legislatures ahead of the upcoming monsoon session.
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