The biennial Rajya Sabha elections for the remaining 15 seats spanning three states are set to commence at 9 am today. These seats are distributed among Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka.
The Election Commission is prepared to oversee the voting process for the Rajya Sabha elections across 15 states, involving a total of 56 seats. Among these, 50 members are scheduled to retire on April 2nd, with the remaining six retiring on April 3rd. Notable figures such as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda, newly joined party member Ashok Chavan, and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan are among the 41 candidates who have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha. However, polling is slated to take place in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
The BJP emerged victorious with the highest number of 20 seats in the Rajya Sabha elections, followed by the Congress with 6 seats, Trinamool Congress with 4 seats, and YSR Congress with 3 seats. Additionally, RJD and BJD secured 2 seats each, while NCP, Shiv Sena, BRS, and JD(U) won one seat each. With no other contenders in the fray for these 41 seats, the respective returning officers declared them winners on the last date of withdrawal of nominations.
Subsequently, polling is slated to take place for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka, and one seat in Himachal Pradesh from 9 am to 4 pm, with counting scheduled to commence on the same day from 5 pm onwards.