By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 22 Sep: The Election Commission has announced the schedule for biennial elections to 11 Rajya Sabha seats, including one from Uttarakhand and 10 from Uttar Pradesh. These seats are due to fall vacant in November upon completion of the tenure of the sitting members. In addition, a by-election will be held for one Rajya Sabha seat in West Bengal that had fallen vacant following the resignation of TMC MP Rukmini Mallik.
In Uttarakhand, Naresh Bansal is the sole retiring member. Naresh Bansal’s term is set to be over on 25 November. As per the programme issued by the Election Commission, the election process for the Uttarakhand seat will begin on 29 September with the issuance of notification. The filing of nominations will begin the same day, with 6 October set as the last date for submission. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be conducted on 7 October, while candidates will be allowed to withdraw their names until 9 October.
Polling will take place on 16 October between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., followed by counting of votes from 5 p.m. onwards on the same day. The formal election process for the Uttarakhand seat will thus begin on 29 September and conclude with the declaration of results on 16 October evening.
It may be recalled that at present Uttarakhand has 5 Lok Sabha seats and three Rajya Sabha seats and all the five seats in Lok Sabha and all the three seats in Rajya Sabha are held by the BJP. Hence the possibility of a BJP candidate to be announced soon by the party winning again remains very high with the party having a clear and brute majority in Uttarakhand Assembly.
In Uttarakhand, Naresh Bansal, Mahendra Bhatt, and Kalpana Saini currently hold these three seats as Rajya Sabha MPs. Dr Kalpana Saini was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttarakhand on July 5, 2022, and took the oath of office and secrecy on July 8, 2022. Her term as a Rajya Sabha MP runs until July 4, 2028. On the other hand, BJP State President Mahendra Bhatt was declared elected unopposed as a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttarakhand on February 20, 2024, and took his oath of office on April 25, 2024. His six-year term as a Rajya Sabha MP will conclude on April 2, 2030.
