Election Commission defers polls for 10 Rajya Sabha seats
Out of the 10 MPs who are retiring, six are from West Bengal, three are from Gujarat and one from Goa.
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday deferred the biennial Rajya Sabha polls due to be held in Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal on June 8. No reason was given by the commission, but it was speculated the decision may have been taken due to the coming presidential polls that will be held in July. It is also possible that the postponement could have been because of the EVM Challenge that the Election Commission has announced for June 3.
An Election Commission statement said the schedule for holding the Rajya Sabha elections in the three states will be announced in due course.
The polls were necessitated as 10 members of Parliament from the three states are due to retire within the next three months. Prominent among them are Union textiles minister Smriti Irani (Gujarat), veteran Congress leader Ahmad Patel (also from Gujarat), Shantaram Naik (another Congress leader who represents Goa in the Upper House), CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury (West Bengal) and Derek O’Brien of Trinamul Congress, who also represents West Bengal in the Upper House.
Out of the 10 MPs who are retiring, six are from West Bengal, three are from Gujarat and one from Goa. While Mr Naik’s term ends on July 28, the remaining nine MPs will retire on August 18.