Biennial Elections to happen for 56 Rajya Sabha seats across 15 states
Biennial Elections to happen for 56 Rajya Sabha seats across 15 states
The Election Commission of India (ECI) declared that biennial elections will be held on February 27 for 56 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states.
50 Rajya Sabha members from 13 states will finish their terms of office on April 2, and the remaining six members from two states will retire on April 3.
As per further information from a press note of the Election Commission of India,
The term of office of 56 members of the Council of States elected from the following 15 states is due to expire on their retirement in April 2024, as detailed below:
| Name of State | No. of members retiring | Date of retirement |
| Andhra Pradesh | 3 | 2.4.2024 |
| Bihar | 6 | |
| Chhattisgarh | 1 | |
| Gujarat | 4 | |
| Haryana | 1 | |
| Himachal Pradesh | 1 | |
| Karnataka | 4 | |
| Madhya Pradesh | 5 | |
| Maharashtra | 6 | |
| Telangana | 3 | |
| Uttar Pradesh | 10 | |
| Uttarakhand | 1 | |
| West Bengal | 5 | |
| Odisha | 3 | 3.4.2024 |
| Rajasthan | 3 |
Now, the Commission has decided to conduct biennial elections to the Council of States from above mentioned States in accordance with the following programme:
| Sr No | Events | Dates |
| 1 | Issue of Notifications | 8th February, 2024 (Thursday) |
| 2 | Last date for making nominations | 15th February, 2024 (Thursday) |
| 3 | Scrutiny of nominations | 16th February, 2024 (Friday) |
| 4 | Last date for withdrawal of candidatures | 20th February, 2024 (Tuesday) |
| 5 | Date of Poll | 27th February, 2024 (Tuesday) |
| 6 | Hours of Poll | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm |
| 7 | Counting of Votes | 27th February, 2024 (Tuesday) at 5:00 pm |
| 8 | Date before which election shall be completed | 29th February, 2024 (Thursday) |
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 a free and fair election.
Shreyas Vange
