Bhubaneswar: Biennial polls to 37 Rajya Sabha seats, including four in Odisha, which are set to fall vacant on different dates in April, will be held on March 16, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Wednesday.
Apart from Odisha, the states where seats are falling vacant are Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar.
It may be noted that the tenures of four Rajya Sabha members from Odisha – Mamata Mohanta, Muzibulla Khan, Sujeet Kumar and Nirnjan Bishi are slated to end on April 2, 2026.
Announcing the schedule for the biennial elections, the ECI said that the terms of 37 members elected from 10 states will come to an end in April. To fill these vacancies, the ECI has decided to conduct biennial elections in accordance with the established electoral process.
As per the notified schedule, the election notification will be issued on February 26, 2026. The last date for filing nominations is March 5, and scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on March 6. Candidates may withdraw their nominations until March 9.
If required, polling will be held on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm. The counting of votes will take place on the same day at 5 pm. The entire election process is scheduled to be completed by March 20, 2026.
The ECI stated that electors must use only integrated violet-coloured sketch pens of a pre-fixed specification supplied by the Returning Officer to mark their preferences on the ballot paper. The use of any other pen will not be permitted.
Adequate measures, including the appointment of observers, will be put in place to ensure strict monitoring and the smooth conduct of free and fair elections, it said.
