Rajya Sabha Election Dates for UP, Uttarakhand, Bengal Announced: Full Schedule, Outgoing Members; who is likely to win | Today’s news
Elections to 12 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal will be held on October 16, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.
The elections will cover 10 seats from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand, where the term of the assembly members ends on November 25, along with a by-poll for one seat from West Bengal.
The notification will be issued on September 29, nominations can be submitted until October 6 and votes will be counted on October 16, the jury said.
Elections to 11 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal will be held on October 16, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.
These include 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand. The Election Commission said the terms of 11 members of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) from Uttar Pradesh (10 seats) and Uttarakhand (1 seat) will expire in November 2026.
A by-election will also be held for one seat in West Bengal. The seat fell vacant after Rukmini Mallik, popularly known as actor Koel Mallick, resigned on 16 July. The winner will serve the remainder of the term until April 2, 2032.
Rajya Sabha Elections Full Schedule: Date and Time
Notification for Rajya Sabha elections will be issued on September 29, nominations can be filed till October 6 and votes will be counted on October 16, the poll panel said.
1. Issuing notices: September 29, 2026 (Tuesday)
2. Last date for submission of nominations: October 6, 2026 (Tuesday)
3. Review of nominations: October 7, 2026 (Wednesday)
4. Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: October 9, 2026 (Friday)
5. Voting date: October 16, 2026 (Friday)
6. Voting hours: 09:00 – 16:00
7. Counting of votes: October 16, 2026 (Friday) at 5:00 p.m
8. Date before which elections will be closed: October 19, 2026 (Monday)
UP Rajya Sabha Elections: Full list of outgoing members; who is likely to win
Members retiring from Uttar Pradesh include:
2. Geeta Alias Chandraprabha
6. Ramji 11/25/2026 Uttar Pradesh
9. Dr. Dinesh Sharma (vacant 9/11/2026)
Eight of the 10 outgoing seats in Uttar Pradesh were held by the BJP, while the Samajwadi Party and the BSP had one each. The Rajya Sabha elections come ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls due next year.
Based on the current assembly arithmetic, the BJP-led alliance is expected to win eight seats, while the Samajwadi Party is expected to win two, news agency PTI reported.
The result could leave the BSP without representation in the Rajya Sabha as it does not have the numbers to retain Gautam’s seat on its own.
The BSP has no MLA in Uttar Pradesh after its only legislator Uma Shankar Singh died in August. Even in 2020, she lacked the numbers to elect herself a Rajya Sabha member. But the BJP has fielded only eight candidates for the 10 seats, leaving room for BSP’s Ramji Gautam.
He was elected unopposed after the Independent Party-backed Samajwadi Party’s nomination was rejected, prompting the SP to claim a BJP-BSP understanding.
Uttarakhand and Bengal: Who is likely to win
In Uttarakhand, BJP member Naresh Bansal’s term ends on November 25.
The BJP is also comfortably placed to retain the Uttarakhand seat.
The West Bengal election poll prompted the resignation of Rukmini Mallik on 16 July.
With a clear majority in the West Bengal Assembly, the ruling BJP is all set to wrest the seat from the Trinamool Congress.
