Bhubaneswar: The Rajya Sabha (RS) by-election for the vacant seat from Odisha will be held September 3, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said in a notification issued Wednesday. A single Rajya Sabha seat from the state fell vacant following the resignation of Mamata Mohanta, July 31, 2024. Mohanta was a BJD MP and her term was scheduled to expire in April 2026. After her resignation, Mohanta quit the primary membership of the BJD and joined the BJP a day later.
The notification for the RS by-election will be issued August 14, 2024, and scrutiny of nominations will be held August 22. Polling will be conducted from 9.00am to 4.00pm and the counting of votes will be held on the same day 5 pm onwards.
Along with the by-election in Odisha, the ECI has also announced that 11 RS seats from nine states will also be filled up the same day. The other states where by-polls to RS seats will be held are Maharashtra, Assam and Bihar (two each) and Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Haryana, Rajasthan and Telangana.
A total of 10 vacancies came up in the House of Elders after the sitting MPs were elected to the Lower House.
PNN