The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled a list of nine candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Among them are Nitin Nabin and Shivesh Kumar from Bihar, Terash Gowalla and Jogen Mohan from Assam, Laxmi Verma from Chhattisgarh, Sanjay Bhatia from Haryana, Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar from Odisha, and Rahul Sinha from West Bengal. The Election Commission of India had earlier announced the election schedule to fill 37 vacant seats across 10 states.
Polling for the Rajya Sabha elections is scheduled for March 16 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with vote counting to follow at 5:00 p.m. on the same day. The current term of 37 Council of States members from 10 states is set to end in April 2026. The Election Commission has outlined a detailed timetable for the electoral process, starting with the issuance of election notifications on February 26.
Candidates contesting in the elections must file their nominations by March 5, with nomination paper scrutiny scheduled for March 6. Withdrawal of nominations is permitted until March 9. The Election Commission has specified the use of integrated violet sketch pens provided by the Returning Officer for marking preferences on ballot papers, emphasizing the exclusion of any other writing instrument.
To ensure transparency and fairness, the Election Commission will deploy observers to oversee the entire election process. The outgoing members represent states including Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana. The Commission has underlined the importance of adhering to election guidelines and completing the process within the stipulated timeline to uphold the integrity of the Rajya Sabha elections.
