Elections to 60 RS seats on June 21

Elections to 60 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on June 21 to fill vacancies caused by retirement of several members including Deputy Chairpe...

Elections to 60 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on June 21 to fill vacancies caused by retirement of several members including Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla, BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu and Union Minister Oscar Fernandes.

The elections will cover 14 states with a maximum of 11 members retiring from Uttar Pradesh followed by six each from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, five from Bihar and four each from Karnataka and Rajasthan.

The exercise includes three bypolls caused by the death of K.M. Khan of Andhra Pradesh, Gurcharan Singh of Punjab and Abrar Ahmed of Rajasthan.

According to the schedule announced today, notifications would be issued on June 4, the last date for filing nominations would be June 11, scrutiny would take place the next day and withdrawals could be made till June 14. The elections are expected to provide an opportunity to Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Power Minister P.M. Sayeed and Programme Implementation Minister Oscar Fernandes to enter Parliament to fulfil the mandatory requirement of becoming a member of either House within six months of appointment. Prominent members retiring are Jaswant Singh, Pramod Mahajan, Arun Shourie, BSP leader Kanshi Ram and Swaraj Kaushal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds up a map while speaking at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

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