EC announces Rajya Sabha polls for 24 seats on June 18

The Election Commission on Friday announced polls for 24 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states on June 18, following the retirement of several sitting members, including former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Digvijaya Singh.

According to the EC, the vacancies arise due to the retirement of members between June 21 and July 19. Elections will be held for four seats each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka; three seats each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; two seats in Jharkhand; and one seat each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.

The last date for filing nominations is June 8.

Among those retiring are Deve Gowda and Kharge from Karnataka, Union Ministers Ravneet Singh from Rajasthan and George Kurian from Madhya Pradesh, besides Digvijaya Singh and Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil.

The EC also announced bypolls to one Rajya Sabha seat each from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

In Maharashtra, the vacancy arose after Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar resigned from the Rajya Sabha following her election to the state Assembly.
(With PTI inputs)