New Delhi, 22 May (H.S.):

The Election Commission has announced biennial elections for 24 Rajya Sabha seats vacated by members retiring in June and July, as well as bypolls to two vacant seats in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Voting for all the seats will be held on June 18, and the results will be declared the same day.

According to the Election Commission, biennial elections will be held for 24 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states. The terms of the sitting members on these seats are ending in June and July. In addition, by-elections will be conducted for one seat each from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which became vacant after resignations.

The Maharashtra seat fell vacant following the resignation of Sunetra Ajit Pawar on May 6, while the Tamil Nadu seat became vacant after C. V. Shanmugam resigned on May 7. The terms of these seats were originally scheduled to end on July 4, 2028, and June 29, 2028, respectively.

As per the election schedule, the notification will be issued on June 1. The last date for filing nominations has been set for June 8, while scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on June 9. Candidates may withdraw their nominations until June 11. Voting will be held on June 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and counting will begin at 5 p.m. the same day. The election process will be completed by June 20.

According to the Commission, voting will be held for four seats each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka; three seats each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; two seats in Jharkhand; and one seat each in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

The names of the members retiring from the Rajya Sabha are as follows: from Andhra Pradesh, Ayodhya Rami Reddy Alla, Nathwani Parimal, Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose and Sana Sathish Babu; from Gujarat, Rambhai Harjibhai Mokariya, Amin Narhari Hirabhai, Gohil Shaktisinhji Harichandrasinhji and Ramila Becharbhai Bara; from Jharkhand, Deepak Prakash and Shibu Soren; from Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh, George Kurian and Sumer Singh Solanki; from Manipur, Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba; from Meghalaya, Wanweiroy Kharlukhi; from Rajasthan, Neeraj Dangi, Rajendra Gehlot and Ravneet Singh; from Arunachal Pradesh, Nabam Rebia; from Karnataka, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Narayana Koragappa and Iranna Kadadi; and from Mizoram, K. Vanlalvena.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar