Rajya Sabha Election 2020: Date, seats, full schedule, FAQs, and prominent candidates

Elections for 24 Rajya Sabha seats spread across 10 states will be held on June 19. Polling will be done from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Friday, and counting of votes will commence at 5:00 pm on the same day.  Among the 24 seats, 18 of these 24 seats were deferred due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. And, the polling for six additional seats will be done because their members will be retiring either in June or July.

Of the 18 seats,  four are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, two from Jharkhand, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and one each from Manipur and Meghalaya. Among the six seats, four are from Karnataka, one each from Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. The Arunachal seat candidate will retire on June 25, and the Mizoram seat candidate will be retiring on July 18. Four MPs from Karnataka will retire on June 25. Rajeev Gowda and BK Hari Prasad are the prominent names that will be retiring from Karnataka.  

The polls for 18 seats were originally scheduled to be held on March 26, but on March 24 the Election Commission announced their deferment.

Rajya Sabha election date: June 19

Rajya Sabha total seats: At present,  the upper house of the India parliament has 245 seats

Rajya Sabha polls 2020 seats: On June 19, the Rajya Sabha election will be for 24 seats.

Rajya Sabha polls 2020 timings: Polling will be done from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

PROMINENT NAMES FOR THE RAJYA SABHA POLLS 2020:

HD Deve Gowda: One name that has made headlines for the 2020 Rajya Sabha election is former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. The 87-year-old Janata Dal (Secular) leader will be contesting in Karnataka. If he wins, this will be the second Rajya Sabha entry. The first time was in 1996 when he was the Prime Minister.

Jyotiraditya Scindia: Scindia, who defected to the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) along with 22 MLAs, is in the fray from the BJP ticket from Madhya Pradesh. He also paved the way for the overthrowing of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in MP.

Digvijay Singh: Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh is contesting the election from Madhya Pradesh. Sumeet Singh Solanki from the BJP and Phool Singh Baraiya of the Congress will fight it out for the third seat in Madhya Pradesh.

Shibu Soren: JMM president Shibu Soren is in the fray for the two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand. Congress candidate Shahzada Anwar and BJP state president Deepak Prakash will also contest the election.

Additionally, the other key contenders for the RS Polls 2020 are- AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, pitted against BJP nominee Rajendra Gehlot in Rajasthan. In Manipur, the BJP has fielded former royal Leisemba Sanajaoba. The Congress has put T Mangi Babu. In Meghalaya, ruling Nation People's Party candidate Wanwei Roy Kharlukhi is contesting against Congress Kennedy Cornelius Khyiem.

Also read: Iron rods, nailed clubs - Chinese forces attacked Indian soldiers with these objects

Also read: Why Xi Jinping is called Winnie the Pooh on Twitter? It's a long story