The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released the schedule for the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections. Polling for 12 Rajya Sabha seats across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal will take place on October 16, 2026. Elections for 28 Legislative Council seats in Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for October 23.
The Rajya Sabha elections cover biennial polls for 11 seats whose terms are ending, along with a separate by-election for a vacant seat in West Bengal following the resignation of Trinamool Congress MP Rukmini Mallik.
Rajya Sabha Polls Scheduled for October 16
The 11 seats going to biennial polls include 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand. The West Bengal seat will be filled through a separate by-election, with voting taking place on the same day.
The election process will begin with the notification being issued on September 29. Candidates can submit their nominations until October 6, while scrutiny of the nominations will be conducted on October 7. October 9 will be the last date for withdrawing candidature.
Polling is scheduled from 9 am to 4 pm on October 16. The counting of votes will begin at 5 pm on the same day.
Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Rajya Sabha Seats
Uttar Pradesh accounts for 10 of the Rajya Sabha seats included in the election schedule. These comprise seats whose terms are coming to an end as well as a vacancy created after former Rajya Sabha member Dinesh Sharma resigned following his appointment as Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Uttar Pradesh members whose terms are ending include Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Arun Singh, Brijlal, BL Verma, Ram Gopal Yadav, Neeraj Shekhar, Geeta alias Chandraprabha, Ramji, Seema and Dinesh Sharma.
In Uttarakhand, the Rajya Sabha seat of Naresh Bansal is due for election.
West Bengal Rajya Sabha By-Election
The ECI has also announced a by-election for one Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal. The vacancy was created after Trinamool Congress MP Rukmini Mallik resigned from the Rajya Sabha.
The by-election will be held on October 16 along with the scheduled Rajya Sabha polls in the other states.
Elections for 28 Legislative Council Seats
The Election Commission has also announced biennial elections for 28 Legislative Council seats across Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh will have elections for 11 seats, consisting of five Graduates’ constituencies and six Teachers’ constituencies. Bihar will elect members for eight seats, with four each from Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies.
Maharashtra will vote for five seats, including three Graduates’ and two Teachers’ constituencies. Karnataka will have elections for four seats, divided equally between Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies.
The notification for these elections will be issued on September 29. The deadline for filing nominations is October 6, followed by scrutiny on October 7. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until October 9.
Polling for the Legislative Council elections will take place on October 23 from 8 am to 4 pm. Counting of votes is scheduled for October 27.
The Model Code of Conduct has come into effect immediately in the concerned Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies across the four states.
For the Rajya Sabha elections, the ECI has also instructed voters to mark their preferences on ballot papers only with the specified violet-colour sketch pens provided by the Returning Officers.