The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Rajya Sabha elections 2024, setting the stage for polls to fill 37 seats across 10 states on March 16.
Key Points
- The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Rajya Sabha elections.
- Seats are falling vacant in Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar.
- The Rajya Sabha elections will fill seats that are becoming vacant in April.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is set to gain strength in the Rajya Sabha when 37 seats go for biennial polls on March 16 as it has governments or is an alliance partner in six of the 10 states where seats are falling vacant.
The 37 seats fall vacant on April 2 and 9.
37 Rajya Sabha seats from 10 States
According to the Election Commission, the states where seats are falling vacant are Maharashtra (7 seats), Odisha (4 seats), Telangana (2 seats), Tamil Nadu (6 seats), Chhattisgarh (2 seats), West Bengal (5 seats), Assam (3 seats), Haryana (2 seats), Himachal Pradesh (1 seat) and Bihar (5 seats).
Notifications for the polls will be issued on February 26 and as per established practice, polling on March 16 will be held between 9 am and 4 pm and votes will be counted from 5 pm the same day.
Smooth sail for BJP?
The BJP has governments, or is an alliance partner in Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Assam. It will help the party gain numbers in the upper house.
In Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal, opposition parties run the respective state governments.
In Maharashtra, if the opposition MVA puts up a united fight, it can send one candidate to the Rajya Sabha. As many as seven seats are falling vacant in the state.
Amongst the prominent MPs retiring are Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP), Abhishek Singhvi (Congress), Saket Gokhale (TMC), Ramdas Athawale (RPI-A), M Thambidurai (AIADMK) and Tiruchi Siva (DMK).
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