The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to hold a by-election to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) from Uttar Pradesh on 15 September 2023 to fill the vacancy caused by the demise of Hardwar Dubey. The ECI has issued a notification for the by-election, inviting nominations from eligible candidates. The last date for filing nominations is September 5th. Scrutiny of nominations will be held on September 6th. The last date for withdrawal of candidatures is September 8th.
Dubey, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), passed away on June 26. He was 72 years old. His term as a Rajya Sabha member was to otherwise end in November, 2026.
The polling for the by-election will be held on 15 September 2023 from 9 am to 4 pm. The counting of votes will take place on the same day at 5 pm.
The by-election is likely to be a closely contested one, with the SP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being the main contenders. The SP is expected to field a strong candidate, while the BJP is also likely to put up a tough fight.
The outcome of the by-election will have a bearing on the political dynamics in Uttar Pradesh, which is going to polls next year.
Currently, the 31 Rajya Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh are:
- 25 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
- 3 from the Samajwadi Party (SP)
- 1 from the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)
- 1 from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
- 1 Independent
Members are elected for a term of six years, and one-third of them retire every two years. The number of seats allocated to each party is determined by the number of seats it holds in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The party then nominates a member to be voted on by the legislators. Elections are held using the single transferable vote system with proportional representation.
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