New Delhi: The Central Election Commission announced the polling date of 18 Rajya Sabha seats on June 19. These elections were scheduled to be held in March, were deferred in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent country wide lockdown. The list of 18 Rajya Sabha seats includes four seats each from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two from Jharkhand and one each from the northeastern states of Meghalaya and Manipur. The voting will be begin at 09:00 am on June 19.

The CEC directed the Chief Secretaries of the states have been asked to depute a senior officer to ensure that the extant instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with while making arrangements for conducting the elections. In February, the Commission had announced elections to fill 55 seats across 17 states. In March, 37 candidates across 10 states were elected unopposed.