Biennial elections to 13 Rajya Sabha seats spread across six states will be held on March 31, the Election Commission of India informed on Monday.
The six states where these biennial elections will be held are Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Nagaland, Tripura and Punjab.
"The term of office of 13 members of the Rajya Sabha elected from 6 States is due to expire on their retirement in April 2022," the official statement read.
Five seats are to be filled in this Punjab poll. Out of the five seats to be filled from Punjab, three are to be filled by holding one election and the other two through another election as these seats belong to two different biennial cycles.
"Further, the term of office of the members to be elected to the Council of States from the State of Punjab shall be subject to the decision of the Supreme Court," the ECI said in a statement.
The last date of making nominations is March 21, 2022. The last date for withdrawal of candidatures is March 24, 2022. The counting of votes will be on March 31 as well.
Adequate measures for close monitoring of the election process by appointing observers shall be taken to ensure a free and fair election, the ECI said.
Commission has also directed the Chief Secretaries concerned to depute a senior officer from the State to ensure that the extant instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with while making arrangements for conducting the elections.
( With inputs from ANI )
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