Bypolls to six Rajya Sabha seats to be held on Dec 20

Among these six seats, three are in Andhra Pradesh and one each in Odisha, West Bengal and Haryana.

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By-elections to six vacant Rajya Sabha seats across four states will be held on December 20, the Election Commission said on Tuesday. The results will be declared on the same day.

Among these six seats, three are in Andhra Pradesh and one each in Odisha, West Bengal and Haryana.

The last date for filing nominations is December 10 while the last date for withdrawing candidature is December 13.

The bypolls were necessitated in three seats from Andhra Pradesh after YSR Congress Party members—Venkataramana Rao Mopidevi, Beedha Masthan Rao Yadav and Ryaga Krishnaiah—resigned from their posts in August.

The terms of Yadav and Krishnaiah were to end on June 21, 2028, while Mopidevi was to retire on 21 June, 2026.

In Odisha, Rajya Sabha member Sujeet Kumar quit his seat in September, following which the Biju Janata Dal expelled him from the party, citing “anti-party activities”. His term was to end on April 2, 2026.

TMC’s Jawhar Sircar quit his seat in April following the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a Kolkata hospital. He was also to retire in April 2026.

In Haryana, BJP leader Krishan Lal Panwar resigned from Rajya Sabha after he was elected as an MLA in the recent assembly elections.

The poll panel announced the Rajya Sabha byelections schedule three days after it declared results of the assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra and byelections for 48 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats.

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