12 Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs in September 3 elections, Odisha seat included

New Delhi, Aug 7: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that elections will be held on September 3 to fill 12 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha, including one from Odisha. This comes after 10 seats became vacant due to MPs being elected to the Lok Sabha and two additional seats were vacated following resignations from members in Odisha and Telangana last month.

In a recent development, Mamata Mahanta, the BJD Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, resigned from her position on July 31, ahead of her term's end. She had been serving since her election on April 3, 2020. Additionally, she left the BJD and joined the BJP on August 1.

The ECI has scheduled the issuance of poll notifications for August 14. The deadline for filing nominations is August 21, with the last date for withdrawals set for August 26 for Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Tripura, and August 27 for Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Telangana, and Odisha. Voting will take place on September 3 from 9 am to 4 pm, with the vote counting starting at 5 pm. Results for all 12 seats are expected to be announced on the same day.