Election for 59 Rajya Sabha seats begins: Here’s all you need to know about polling

The Rajya Sabha polls will be held on March 23 to elect 59 members from 17 states. The House has 245 members. The counting of votes will begin from 5pm and results will be declared the same evening. The BJP government has 58 members — four more than Congress. The BJP is expected to improve its tally as it rules in 11 of the 16 states where the polls will be held.

Voting for polls to Rajya Sabha , which will have 58 vacancies in April, began on Friday.

The counting of votes for Rajya Sabha elections will begin from 5pm on March 23 and results will be declared the same evening. (PTI File Photo)

For the 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states have been unanimously elected. Voting for the remaining 25 seats will be held in six states. They are, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana. Voting for bypoll to a Rajya Sabha seat from Kerala will also be held on Friday.

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Here’s all you need to know about the voting process:

The number of vacancies to be filled

Uttar Pradesh: 10

Maharashtra: 6

Bihar: 6

West Bengal: 5

Madhya Pradesh: 5

Gujarat: 4

Karnataka: 4

Telangana: 3

Rajasthan: 3

Odisha: 3

Jharkhand: 2

Chhattisgarh: 1

Haryana: 1

Himachal Pradesh: 1

Uttarakhand: 1

Kerala: 1

What is the strength of the House?

The Rajya Sabha has the strength of 245 members of which 233 are representatives of the states and Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry. The remaining 12 members are nominated by the President.

How are the members nominated?

These members are nominated by the President because of their special knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, art and social service. Nominated members enjoy the same perks and privileges as that of the elected members except on one count: they can’t participate in the election of the President.

How are RS members elected?

The RS members are elected through indirect voting by MLAs through the process of proportional representation. In other words, it means the number of Rajya Sabha MPs will depend of the size of the population of that state.

For example, Uttar Pradesh, the most populous Indian state, sends 31 MPs to the Upper House while Arunachal Pradesh has just one seat.

The members are picked in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable.

The calculation is: (total number of MLAs of the state ÷ no of seats going to poll in the state +1) +1.

What is the qualification of an RS member?

He must be a citizen of India and must not be less than 30 years of age. He must possess qualifications as may be prescribed under any law made by Parliament.

(Source: parliamentofindia.nic.in)