The Election Commission on Monday announced polls to fill 13 Rajya Sabha seats across six states. Elections will be held on March 31. The tenure of eight Rajya Sabha members from Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Nagaland and Tripura will end on April 2 and the term of five members from Punjab will end on April 9. Because of this, these seats are getting vacant. Senior Congress leaders AK Antony and Anand Sharma are also among the members whose term is being completed.
“Out of the five seats falling vacant in Punjab, there will be one election for three, while there will be a separate election for two seats as these seats belong to two different biennial cycles,” the Election Commission asserted in a statement.
The notification for the elections to be held for these seats of Rajya Sabha will be issued on March 14 and voting will be held on March 31. As per the established convention, the counting of votes will take place from 5 pm on the day of polling. The tenure of Antony from Kerala, Anand Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, Pratap Singh Bajwa (Congress) and Naresh Gujral (Akali Dal) from Punjab is completed in the Upper House.
The decision of the Rajya Sabha elections from Punjab will depend on the results of the assembly elections held on February 20. The counting of votes cast for the assembly elections will be held on March 10. Apart from five seats from Punjab, three Rajya Sabha seats are falling vacant from Kerala, two from Assam and one each from Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura.
