Rajya Sabha election dates announced for 37 seats in 10 states, voting on March 16

Delhi: The Election Commission of India has announced biennial Rajya Sabha elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant in 10 states. The date of polling is 16 March 2026 and counting of votes will take place on the day of polling only. Let us tell you that elections will be held on the vacant Rajya Sabha seats of Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar. According to the Election Commission, these seats are falling vacant on different dates in the month of April. The tenure of Rajya Sabha is six years. But biennial elections are held every two years for one-third of the seats. The biggest thing is that unlike the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha is never dissolved, that is why it is called a permanent house.

Complete schedule of Rajya Sabha elections

• Rajya Sabha election notification will be released on 26 February 2026.

• The last date for filing nominations is March 5, 2026.
  
• Scrutiny of nominations will take place on March 6, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is March 9, 2026.
  
• Voting for the Rajya Sabha elections will take place on March 16, 2026, from 9 am to 4 pm.
  
• Counting of votes will start at 5 pm on the same day.
  
• The last date to complete the election process is 20 March 2026

In which states the seats have become vacant

• Maharashtra: 7 seats
  
• Odisha: 4 seats
  
• Tamil Nadu: 6 seats
  
• West Bengal: 5 seats
  
• Assam: 3 seats
  
• Bihar: 5 seats
  
• Chhattisgarh: 2 seats
  
• Himachal: 1
  
• Telangana: 2
  
• Haryana: 2

Who is retiring from Maharashtra?

• Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad
  
• Dr. (Mrs.) Fauzia Tahseen Ahmed Khan
  
• Priyanka Vikram Chaturvedi
  
• Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar
  
• Patience Mohan Patil
  
• Rajni Ashokrao Patil
  
• Ramdas Bandu Athawale

Who is retiring from Odisha

• mamta mohanta
  
• muzibulla khan
  
• Sujit Kumar
  
• Niranjan Bishi
  
• Tamil Nadu
  
• N.R. elango
  
• P. Selvarasu
  
• M. Thambidurai
  
• tiruchi siva
  
• Dr. Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu
  
• G.K. Vasan

Who will retire from West Bengal?

• Saket Gokhale
  
• Ritabrata Banerjee
  
• Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya
  
• Weather Noor
  
• Subrata Bakshi

Who is retiring from Assam?

• Rameshwar Teli
  
• Bhuvaneshwar Kalita
  
• Ajit Kumar Bhuiyan

Who will retire from Rajya Sabha from Bihar?

• Amarendra Dhari Singh
  
• Prem Chand Gupta
  
• Ramnath Thakur
  
• Upendra Kushwaha
  
• Harivansh Narayan Singh

Who will retire from Chhattisgarh?

• Poet Tejpal Singh Tulsi
  
• Phulo Devi Netam

Who will retire from Haryana

• Kiran Chaudhary
  
• Ram Chander Jangra

Who will retire from Himachal Pradesh?

• Indu Bala Goswami

Who will retire from Telangana?

• Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi
  
• K.R. Suresh Reddy

Let us tell you that in the Rajya Sabha of 245 members, 233 are elected. The Election Commission has already sent letters to the Chief Electoral Officers of these states for the appointment of Returning Officers.

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