Rajya Sabha Bypoll: The bypoll for the Rajya Sabha seat that fell vacant following the death of a sitting member will be held today (September 15). BJP MP Hardwar Dubey passed away on 26 June. His term as Rajya Sabha member was to end in November 2026.
The polling for the by-election will be held on 15 September 2023 from 9 am to 4 pm. According to established practices, counting will take place an hour after polling ends at 4 pm on 15 September, according to the schedule released by the EC.
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.
SP wins Ghosi assembly seat
Earlier, in the Ghosi assembly seat bypoll, Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sudhakar Singh defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dara Singh Chauhan by a margin of 42,759 votes. A voter turnout of 50.77 per cent was recorded in Ghosi, which falls under Mau district.
The Ghosi bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of Chauhan, who had won the seat in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, from the Samajwadi Party in July. He returned to the BJP and was fielded by the party in the bypoll.
Also Read: Ghosi bypoll a test for I.N.D.I.A bloc: Samajwadi Party
Also Read: Bypolls 2023: Voting in 7 assembly seats in 6 states concludes
