The Election Commission’s latest announcement has set in motion an important round of Rajya Sabha elections, with 12 seats across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal coming into focus. While 11 seats will be filled through biennial elections, the West Bengal contest will be a by-election to fill a vacancy. The results will determine the composition of the Upper House from these states at a time when political parties are preparing for the next electoral cycle.
The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for elections to 11 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with a by-election for one seat in West Bengal. Polling for all 12 seats will take place on October 16, setting the stage for a closely watched round of contests in the Upper House.
The electoral process will formally begin with the issue of notification on September 29. Candidates can file their nominations until October 6, while scrutiny will take place on October 7. The deadline for withdrawal is October 9. Voting will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on October 16, followed by counting from 5 pm. The entire process is scheduled to be completed by October 19.
The largest share of the upcoming contests is in Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held for 10 Rajya Sabha seats. Nine of these vacancies arise from the completion of members’ terms on November 25, while another seat became vacant after BJP leader Dinesh Sharma resigned following his appointment as Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Among the members whose terms are ending are BJP leaders Hardeep Singh Puri, Arun Singh, Banwari Lal Verma, Brij Lal, Neeraj Shekhar, Seema Dwivedi and Geeta alias Chandraprabha, along with Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party's Ramji Gautam. Dinesh Sharma's seat is also part of the October election process.
The outgoing BJP members account for eight of the 10 regular UP seats, while the SP and BSP have one each. The BSP's Ramji Gautam is particularly significant because the party's representation in Parliament depends on its ability to secure a seat through the state legislature's electoral college.
The arithmetic of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly will therefore be central to the contests. Recent reports put the BJP at 257 MLAs, with the SP at 102; the BJP also has several allies in the House.
Unlike Lok Sabha elections, Rajya Sabha members representing states are elected by elected members of the respective state legislative assemblies. Consequently, the present composition of the Assembly is an important factor in determining the distribution of seats.
Uttarakhand will elect one Rajya Sabha member as the term of BJP's Naresh Bansal comes to an end on November 25. Bansal has represented the state in the Upper House since November 2020. The Uttarakhand go
Alongside the 11 biennial elections, the Election Commission has scheduled a by-election for one Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal.
The vacancy arose after Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel Mallick, resigned from the Upper House. Her seat had originally been due to continue until April 2, 2032. The October 16 by-election will therefore fill the remaining portion of that term.
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