New Delhi: Biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha for 37 seats across 10 states will take place on March 16. Announcing the schedule on Wednesday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said that counting will be held on the same day.
According to an official statement, notifications for the elections will be issued on February 26. The last date for filing nominations is March 5, and scrutiny will be carried out on March 6.
The schedule released by the ECI showed that candidates may withdraw their nominations until March 9. Polling will take place from 9 am to 4 pm on March 16, with counting beginning at 5 pm. The ECI said that the election process will be completed by March 20.
Elections will be held in the following states: Odisha (4), Tamil Nadu (6), Maharashtra (7), West Bengal (5), Assam (3), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (2), Haryana (2), Himachal Pradesh (1), and Telangana (2). These Rajya Sabha seats will be vacated in April 2026.
The ECI has instructed that only the integrated violet sketch pen of the prescribed specification, supplied by the Returning Officer, must be used to mark preferences on the ballot paper. The use of any other pen for marking preferences in these elections will not be permitted.
Some of the well-known members who will retire include Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Sharad Pawar, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, and Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale.
In the 2020 biennial elections, the BJP and its allies secured a majority share in states such as Assam, Bihar, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.
In Odisha, the tenures of four Rajya Sabha MPs – Sujeet Kumar, Muzibulla Khan, Mamata Mohanta, and Niranjan Bishi – will end on April 2, 2026.
