The Election Commission of India has announced the election schedule for the Rajya Sabha. It includes 56 seats from 15 states, including 3 seats from Rajasthan. Considering the current political situation in the state, it is decided that the BJP will win on two seats, and Congress will secure victory on one seat.
According to the Election Commission, elections will be held on 3 seats in Andhra Pradesh, 6 in Bihar, 1 in Chhattisgarh, 4 in Gujarat, 1 in Haryana, 1 in Himachal Pradesh, 4 in Karnataka, 5 in Madhya Pradesh, 6 in Maharashtra, 3 in Telangana, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, 1 in Uttarakhand, and 5 in West Bengal.
All these seats will be vacant on April 2. Meanwhile, the 3 seats of Odisha and Rajasthan will be vacant on April 3. However, one seat in Rajasthan is already vacant due to resignation.
As per the notification issued by the Election Commission of India, the announcement for elections will be made on February 8. Nomination for elections can be filed until February 15. Scrutiny will take place by February 16.
Candidates can withdraw their nominations until February 20. Voting will be held on February 27 from 9 AM to 4 PM, and counting of votes will begin at 5 PM on the same day. The entire election process will be completed by February 29.
Terms of Manmohan Singh and Bhupendra Yadav will come to an end, Kirodi Lal Meena has already resigned.
It is worth noting that the term of Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav will end on April 3. Meanwhile, Kirodi Lal Meena has resigned from the Rajya Sabha after becoming an MLA. In this scenario, elections will be held for the 3 seats in the state. Currently, two seats are held by the BJP, and one is held by a Congress Rajya Sabha member.
There will be a minimum quota of 51 votes in Rajasthan.
Rajya Sabha elections are based on the ‘proportional representation single transferable vote method.’ It involves determining a minimum quota to win. The candidate who secures the votes equal to or more than the minimum quota wins.
The state assembly has a total of 200 seats.
Therefore, the minimum number of votes required to win is 51. Considering the current situation of both BJP and Congress in the state, it is decided that BJP will win two seats, while Congress will win one seat.
It is worth noting that the minimum quota is determined based on a formula. The total valid votes are divided by the number of elected members, and then 1 is added to the result.