By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a press note/notification on February 18 announcing the schedule for biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha to fill 37 seats across 10 states, where members’ terms expire in April 2026.
Key details from the announcement:
Polling date: March 16, 2026 (voting from 9 AM to 4 PM, with counting at 5 PM on the same day).
The process completes before March 20, 2026.
Notification issuance (formal election notification/gazette): February 26, 2026.
Last date for filing nominations: March 5, 2026.
Scrutiny of nominations: March 6, 2026.
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: March 9, 2026 (based on standard schedules reported).
For Odisha specifically:
4 seats are included in these biennial polls from Odisha). These seats are falling vacant due to retirements in April 2026 (specifically, terms of members like Mamata Mohanta, Sujeet Kumar, Muzibulla Khan/Munna Khan, and possibly Nirnjan Bishi ending on April 2, 2026).
Odisha is one of the 10 states affected, alongside Maharashtra (7 seats), Tamil Nadu (6), West Bengal (6, including one earlier vacancy), Bihar (4), Assam (3), Telangana (2), Chhattisgarh (2), Haryana (1-2), and Himachal Pradesh (1).
This is a standard biennial election for retiring members, conducted via MLAs’ voting in the state legislative assemblies. No major changes or special notes on Odisha beyond the inclusion in the 37-seat batch were highlighted in the announcement.
The Commission has directed that only integrated violet colour sketch pen(s) of pre-fixed specification, provided by the Returning Officer, shall be used for the purpose of marking preference(s) on the ballot paper. No other pen shall be used for marking preferences in the above said elections.
Adequate measures for close monitoring of the election process by appointing observers shall be taken to ensure free and fair election.
