NEW DELHI: Elections to 55 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant in April will be held on March 26, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday.
These seats from 17 states are falling vacant on different dates in April.
The term of office of 55 members of the Rajya Sabha elected from 17 States is due to expire on their retirement in April, 2020 as detailed below:
| Sl. No. | State | No. of seats | Date of retirement |
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Maharashtra | 7 | 02.04.2020
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Odisha | 4 | |
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Tamil Nadu | 6 | |
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West Bengal | 5 | |
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Andhra Pradesh | 4 | 09.04.2020
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Telangana | 2 | |
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Assam | 3 | |
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Bihar | 5 | |
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Chhattisgarh | 2 | |
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Gujarat | 4 | |
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Haryana | 2 | |
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Himachal Pradesh | 1 | |
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Jharkhand | 2 | |
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Madhya Pradesh | 3 | |
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Manipur | 1 | |
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Rajasthan | 3 | |
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Meghalaya | 1 | 12.04.2020 |
A statement showing the details of the above mentioned vacancies is given in ‘Annexure-A’ (hyperlinked). The Commission has decided that above mentioned biennial elections to the Council of States shall be held in accordance with the following programme: –
| Sl.No. | Events | Dates |
| Issue of Notifications | 06thMarch, 2020 (Friday) | |
| Last date of making nominations | 13th March, 2020 (Friday) | |
| Scrutiny of nominations | 16thMarch, 2020 (Monday) | |
| Last date for withdrawal of candidatures | 18th March, 2020 (Wednesday) | |
| Date of Poll | 26thMarch, 2020 (Thursday) | |
| Hours of Poll | 09:00 am to 04:00 pm | |
| Counting of Votes | 26thMarch, 2020 (Thursday)
at 05:00 pm |
|
| Date before which election shall be completed | 30th March, 2020 (Monday) |
The Commission has directed that for the purpose of marking preference(s) on the ballot paper only integrated violet colour sketch pen(s) of pre-fixed specification, provided by the Returning Officer, shall be used. No other pen shall, under any circumstances, be used in the above said elections.
Adequate measures for close monitoring of the election process by appointing observers shall be taken to ensure free and fair election.
