Guwahati: The political mercury is set to soar as the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday declared that biennial elections for a total of eight Rajya Sabha seats – two from Assam and six from Tamil Nadu – will be conducted on June 19, 2025. The counting of votes, a quick turnaround, is slated for the very same day, promising an exciting conclusion to the Upper House contest.
This crucial electoral exercise has been necessitated by the imminent superannuation of eight seasoned members from the Council of States, whose tenures are slated to conclude between June and July of the upcoming year. From Assam, the two seats up for grabs currently belong to Mission Ranjan Das and Birendra Prasad Baishya, both stalwarts from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose terms officially draw to a close on June 14.
Down South, in the politically charged state of Tamil Nadu, six members are all set to hang up their Rajya Sabha hats on July 24. This includes a diverse political mix with Anbumani Ramadoss from the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), N. Chandrasegharan of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), M. Shanmugam and P. Wilson representing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Vaiko from the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), and M. Mohamed Abdulla. Their departure paves the way for fresh faces in the esteemed parliamentary body.
As per the meticulous schedule laid out by the Election Commission, the formal notification for these elections will be released on June 2, kickstarting the nomination process. Aspiring candidates have until June 9 to file their nominations, followed by a rigorous scrutiny process on June 10. The last opportunity for candidates to withdraw their names from the fray is June 12. The polling itself will take place on June 19, with voting commencing at 9:00 AM and concluding at 4:00 PM. The moment of truth arrives swiftly thereafter, with vote counting scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM. The ECI anticipates drawing the curtains on this entire electoral saga by June 23.
In addition to the high-stakes Rajya Sabha polls, the Election Commission also made another significant announcement: by-elections for five Assembly seats spread across four different states will also be held concurrently on June 19, adding another layer of electoral action to the mid-June political calendar.