Punjab / Election Commission announces elections for five Rajya Sabha seats in the state

Punjab : With the term of five Rajya Sabha members elected from Punjab ending in April, the Election Commission has announced the date of elections to the Upper House of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha term of Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Congress's Pratap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo, Bharatiya Janata Party's Shwet Malik and Shiromani Akali Dal's Naresh Gujral is set to end on April 9.

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju said on Sunday that the notification for the elections would be issued on Monday, March 14. The last date for filing nominations is March 21 and scrutiny will be held on March 22, an official statement said. March 24 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of nominations. Polling will be held on March 31 from 9 am to 4 pm and counting will be done at 5 pm on the same day.

Raju said that the election process would be completed before April 2. He said that the nomination papers will have to be handed over to the Assembly Secretary who is the presiding officer for the Rajya Sabha elections. Nomination papers will not be able to be filled on March 18 due to Holi and on March 20 due to Sunday.