The Election Commission (EC) released a notification for the six vacant seats in Rajya Sabha across four states. The six vacancies in the upper house include three in Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Odisha, West Bengal and Haryana.
The Election Commission said that the polling for the upper house will be held on December 20 and the results will be declared on the same day.
Three vacancies were created in Andhra Pradesh when YSRCP members Venkataramana Rao Mopidevi, Beedha Masthan Rao Yadav and Ryaga Krishnaiah had quit their membership in August. The terms of Yadav and Krishnaiah as Rajya Sabha MPs were to end on June 21, 2028, while Mopidevi was to retire on 21 June, 2026.
Meanwhile, a vacancy occurred in Odisha when Sujeet Kumar quit his seat following which he was expelled by the Biju Janata Dal. His term was scheduled to end on April 2, 2026.
Jawhar Sircar of the TMC had resigned in April following the rape-murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata, creating a vacancy in the state. He was otherwise to retire in April 2026.
Krishan Lal Panwar of the BJP had quit his Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana following his election as an MLA in the recent state polls. After the recent assembly polls, TDP in Andhra Pradesh and BJP in Odisha will have an upper hand in the Rajya Sabha bypolls.
The notification for nomination will be issued on December 3, while the last date of making nominations is December 10 and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is December 13.
Polling will be held between 9 am and 4 pm on December 20 and the counting of votes will be done on the same day.