The election commission of India (ECI) has announced Rajya Sabha elections on Feb 27 for the 56 empty seats across 15 states in India.

These also include four seats in Gujarat, the candidates for which are to retire in April.

As the terms of union ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala from the BJP, alongside Amee Yagnik and Naran Rathwa from the Congress, are about to end this year, elections are to be held on these four Rajya Sabha seats.

The elections are scheduled to take place on Feb 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the results will be declared at 5 p.m. on the same day.

As the BJP holds a majority in the Gujarat state assembly, with a total of 156 MLAs against 15 of Congress, all four seats are seen to be won by the candidates from the BJP.

As per reliable sources at the state assembly, the elections will take place only if more than four candidates file their nominations. Otherwise, all four of the candidates will be declared representatives uncontested.

The decision to extend Mandaviya’s second term and Rupala’s third term will soon be taken by the BJP high command.

Out of the total 11 Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, the BJP holds 8 while Congress has 3.

According to ECI, the notification will be issued on Feb 8, and the last date to file a nomination is Feb 15.

Biennial RS polls for 56 seats

The others states going to the RS polls are: Uttar Pradesh (10 seats), Maharashtra and Bihar (six each), Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal (five each), Karnataka (four), Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Rajasthan (three each), Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand (one seat each).

(Source: IANS)

- Edited for style

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