Lucknow: The Election Commission of India on Tuesday announced the schedule for the biennial elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh and one seat from Uttarakhand.Polling will be held on Oct 16 from 9am to 4pm, followed by counting of votes at 5pm the same day.The notification will be issued on Sept 29, while the last date for filing nominations is Oct 6. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on Oct 7 and candidates may withdraw their nominations until Oct 9. The election process is scheduled to be completed by Oct 19.Eight out of 10 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant on Nov 25 are currently held by BJP, while one each is held by SP and BSP. The eight BJP MPs completing their tenure are Dinesh Sharma, Seema Dwivedi, Neeraj Shekhar, Arun Singh, BL Verma, Geeta Shakya, Hardeep Singh Puri and Brij Lal. Sharma has already resigned from the Upper House following his appointment as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.SP national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP’s Ramji Lal Gautam will also complete their terms.Rajya Sabha elections are conducted through proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, with elected MLAs forming the electoral college. Consequently, the outcome depends on the numerical strength of parties and alliances in the respective state assemblies.Since the present strength of UP Assembly is 397 (out of 403 seats), each candidate will require at least 37 first-preference votes to win. BJP-led NDA has adequate numbers to comfortably ensure the victory of eight candidates, while SP has sufficient numbers to get two candidates elected.BSP, which currently has no representation in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, will be unable to get any candidate elected. As a result, the Mayawati’s party will lose its remaining presence in Rajya Sabha. BSP also has no representation in Lok Sabha.The elections assume significance in Uttar Pradesh as the BJP and opposition seek to mobilise their respective strengths in the Assembly to shape the composition of the 10 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant.Alongside the biennial elections, ECI has also announced byelection to a Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal. The vacancy arose following the resignation of Rukmini Mallik on July 16, 2026 though her term was until April 2, 2032. The West Bengal byelection will follow the same schedule, with polling and counting to be held on Oct 16.
