Rajya Sabha election schedule released

Hyderabad: Elections to 52 Rajya Sabha seats including two seats in Telangana will be held on June 10. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced the poll schedule for the 57 seats of the Council of States in 15 States, whose terms expire between June and August this year. While the notification will […]

Hyderabad: Elections to 52 Rajya Sabha seats including two seats in Telangana will be held on June 10. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced the poll schedule for the 57 seats of the Council of States in 15 States, whose terms expire between June and August this year.

While the notification will be issued on May 24 kick-starting the nomination process, the last date for submission of nominations is May 31. Scrutiny of nominations will be taken up on June 1, last date for withdrawal of candidatures is June 3. The polling will be held on June 10 between 9 am to 4 pm, followed by counting of votes the same day.

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The terms of union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, along with many Congress veterans like P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Jairam Ramesh and Ambika Soni are all set to end. In Telangana, TRS Rajya Sabha members Capt V Lakshmikantha Rao and D Srinivas will retire in June for which the elections will be held. These elections will be crucial in view of the Presidential elections due in July. Seven seats of nominated MPs are also vacant.

Meanwhile, the ECI also issued the notification for the bye-election to the vacant Rajya Sabha seat in Telangana on Thursday, and started accepting nominations. The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant following the resignation of TRS MP Banda Prakash. Upon election, the term of the new member will expire on April 2, 2024.

The last date for filing nominations for the bypolls is May 19. The nominations will be scrutinised on May 20 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature would be May 23. Polling will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on May 30 and counting of votes will be held the same day at 5 pm, followed by announcement of the results.

With a significant strength in the State Legislature, the ruling TRS is expected to win all three Rajya Sabha seats without any difficulty. TRS President and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is likely to announce the names of the party candidates in the next couple of days.