On 1st June, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced elections for 27 Rajya Sabha seats, including 24 regular vacancies across 10 states and three bypolls in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. Polling and counting will take place on 18th June. Counting will take place after 5 pm.
According to the notification issued by the ECI, the last date for filing nominations is 8th June till 3 pm. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on 9th June, while 11th June has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of candidature.
NDA likely to gain ground
The election is expected to strengthen the BJP-led NDA in the Upper House. The NDA currently has 140 members in the 245-member Rajya Sabha. It is expected to increase its tally and may win 17 to 19 of the 27 seats.
The seats fall vacant in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Mizoram. Three additional vacancies were created due to resignations.
Prominent leaders retiring
Several prominent leaders will complete their terms, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, and Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian. Bittu is being seen as a contender and is expected to return to Rajya Sabha.
Kharge is expected to return from Karnataka, where Congress has the numbers to win three seats. In Madhya Pradesh, Congress may face cross-voting concerns, while BJP is expected to win two seats. In Gujarat, Congress may be left without Rajya Sabha representation from the state after Shaktisinh Gohil’s term ends, as it has only 12 MLAs against the required strength of 46.
