New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced the schedule for 37 Rajya Sabha elections in 10 states, including Maharashtra and Telangana. 37 Rajya Sabha seats are falling vacant in April. The states where elections are scheduled include West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Assam, with assembly elections scheduled for early this year.
According to the schedule released by the Election Commission (ECI), of the 37 Rajya Sabha seats, seven are from Maharashtra, six from Tamil Nadu, five each from Bihar and West Bengal, four from Odisha, three from Assam, two each from Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana, and one from Himachal Pradesh. Abhishek Manu Singhvi and K.R. Suresh Reddy will retire from the Rajya Sabha on April 9th in Telangana, while Rameshwar Teli, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Ajit Kumar Bhuyan will also retire on the same date in the election-bound state of Assam.
According to the poll panel, in the contested Tamil Nadu, E.R. Elango, P. Selvarasu, M. Thambidurai, Tiruchi Siva, Kanimozhi, N.V.N. Somu, and G.K. Vasan will also retire on April 2. According to the schedule for Rajya Sabha elections in 10 states, voting is scheduled for March 16. The notification for the elections will be issued on February 26. The last date for filing nominations is March 5, and scrutiny will take place the following day. According to the schedule, the last date for withdrawal of nominations is March 9. Voting will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. The elections must be completed by March 20.
The Election Commission stated that it has directed that only a pre-determined, integrated purple sketch pen provided by the Returning Officer will be used to mark preferences on the ballot paper. It added that no other pens will be used to indicate preferences. The poll panel stated that necessary steps will be taken to ensure free and fair elections, including appointing observers to closely monitor the election process.
A look at the election schedule
Notification date: February 26.
Last date for nominations: March 5, 2026
Scrutiny of nomination papers: March 6, 2026
Last date for withdrawal: March 9, 2026
Voting date: March 16, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Counting of votes: March 16, 2026, from 5 p.m.
The election process must be completed by March 20, 2026.
These Rajya Sabha members will retire from Maharashtra:
Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad
Dr. Fauzia Tahseen Ahmed Khan
Priyanka Vikram Chaturvedi
Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar
Dhairyasheel Mohan Patil
Rajni Ashokrao Patil
Ramdas Bandu Athawale
Rajya Sabha members retiring from Odisha:
Mamata Mohanta
Mujibullah Khan
Sujit Kumar
Niranjan Bishi
Retiring members from Tamil Nadu:
N.R. Elango
P. Selvarasu
M. Thambidurai
Tiruchi Siva
Dr. Kanimozhi N.V.N Somu
G K Vasan
Retiring Member from West Bengal
Saket Gokhale
Ritabrata Banerjee
Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya
Mausam Noor
Subrata Bakshi
Retiring Rajya Sabha Member from Assam
Rameshwar Teli
Bhubaneswar Kalita
Ajit Kumar Bhuiyan
Retiring Member from Bihar
Amarendra Dhari Singh
Prem Chand Gupta
Ramnath Thakur
Upendra Kushwaha
Harivansh Narayan Singh
Retiring Member from Chhattisgarh
Poet Tejpal Singh Tulsi
Phulo Devi Netam
Retiring Member from Haryana
Kiran Chaudhary
Ram Chander Jangra
Retiring Member from Himachal Pradesh
Indu Bala Goswami
Retiring Member from Telangana
Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi
K.R. Suresh Reddy
