Elections for 13 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant in April will be held on March 31, the Election Commission of India announced on Monday. Rajya Sabha members are elected by a single transferable vote by state legislatures on the principle of proportional representation.
Out of the 13 Rajya Sabha seats, five will be filled from Punjab, three from Kerala, two from Assam, and one each from Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Tripura. Of the five seats from Punjab, three will be filled in one election and the other two through another election as these seats belong to two different biennial cycles.
The Rajya Sabha members whose term will be expiring in April are Sukhdev Singh, Partap Singh Bajwa, Shwait Malik, Naresh Gujral, Shamsher Singh Dullo, A. K. Antony, M. V. Shreyams Kumar, Somaprasad K, Ranee Narah, Ripun Bora, Anand Sharma, K. G. Kenye, and Smti Jharna Das (Baidya).
Here’s the schedule for Rajya Sabha elections:
| Events | Dates |
| Issue of Notifications | March 14, 2022 (Monday) |
| Last date of making nominations | March 21, 2022 (Monday) |
| Scrutiny of nominations | March 22, 2022 (Tuesday) |
| Last date for withdrawal of candidatures | March 24, 2022 (Thursday) |
| Date of Poll | March 31, 2022 (Thursday) |
| Hours of Poll | 09:00 am- 04:00 pm |
| Counting of Votes | March 31, 2022 (Thursday) at 05:00 pm |
| Date before which election shall be completed | April 2, 2022 (Saturday) |
The ECI has directed the chief secretaries of the five states depute a senior officer to ensure that the instructions regarding coronavirus disease (Covid-19) containment measures are complied with while making arrangements for conducting the elections.
