37 Rajya Sabha seats to go to polls on March 16
Two seats up for grabs in Haryana, one in Himachal
Biennial elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats, including two in Haryana and one in Himachal Pradesh, are scheduled to take place on March 16.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced the biennial elections to the Upper House of the Parliament across 10 states. The results will be announced on the day of polling itself.
The election process will begin with the issue of notifications on February 26. As per the schedule, the last date for filing of nominations is March 6, while the last date for withdrawal is March 9.
The elections are being held as the terms of 37 members are set to expire in April 2026. Among the outgoing members of the House are BJP’s Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra from Haryana and Indu Bala Goswami from Himachal Pradesh.
Others nearing the end of their term are Union ministers Ramdas Athawale and Rameswar Teli as well as NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Congress’ Abhishek Manu Singhvi, TMC’s Saket Gokhale, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and Shiv Sena UBT’s Priyanka Chaturvedi among others.
In total, seven seats from Maharashtra, six from Tamil Nadu, five each from West Bengal and Bihar, four from Odisha, three from Assam, two each from Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Telangana and one from Himachal Pradesh are scheduled to fall vacant.
Elected members of the state legislative assemblies vote in the Rajya Sabha election. The legislators send a batch of new members to the Upper House every two years for a six-year term. A third of Members of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, from each State, retire once in two years and polls are held to fill the vacancies.
Voting is by single transferable vote, as the election is held on the principle of proportional representation.
