Rajya Sabha elections to be held today, EC appoints special observers

New Delhi – The stage is set for the biennial poll to the Rajya Sabha in four states on Friday. The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the polls which will cover 18 seats.

The elections will be held for six seats in Andhra Pradesh, five in West Bengal, four in Odisha and three in Assam. They will be held in the respective State Legislative Assembly premises where the MLAs will cast their vote.

The polls for the Upper House is scheduled to be held between 9 am and 4 pm. The counting of votes will be done on Friday at 5 pm.

The EC has appointed four Chief Electoral Officers of other states as special observers of the commission for elections for which as many as 37 candidates from 12 States have already been declared elected unopposed.

The EC released a statement regarding the polls, which said, as quoted by IANS, “The duties of the special observers will be to keep a watch on electoral malpractices including role of money power. In case specific complaints are received, the same will promptly be looked into.”

“The observers will also keep constant watch on the news and media reports related to biennial election. In case of any electoral malpractices, the same will be brought to the notice of the Commission,” it added.

This is said to be one of the biggest biennial poll currently being held for 55 seats in 16 states for Upper House of Parliament. Maharashtra, seven seats, Tamil Nadu, six seats, Bihar, five seats, Gujarat, four seats, Madhya Pradesh, three seats, Rajasthan, three seats, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, two seats each and Himachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya, one seat each, have already completed the elections.

Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Murli Deora are among the seven candidates from Maharashtra who have already been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from.