Elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats, spanning 15 states and Union Territories (UTs), will take place on 10 June, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Thursday, 12 May.
"The term of office of 57 members of the Council of States is due to expire on their retirement on the dates during the period from June-August, 2022," the EC said in a statement.
The vacant seats are spread across 15 states UTs, including Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
The highest number of seats go to polls in the state of Uttar Pradesh, with 11 spots up for grabs. Six seats each will go to elections in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Terms of senior party leaders such as Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Congress leader P Chidambaram are also set to end in this period.
The Upper House of Parliament contains 245 members in total.
After the BJP's sweeping victory in the Assembly elections, the supporters of the party have hope that it could lead to the strengthening of the party in the Rajya Sabha, thus enabling a smooth passage for contentious and pending promises, such as the Uniform Civil Code.
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