Rajya Sabha Elections Today: 3 Seats Head To Polls, Spotlight On Jharkhand

Last Updated:June 18, 2026, 07:47 IST

Out of the 24 Rajya Sabha seats scheduled for biennial elections, 21 have already been decided unopposed.

Voting is set to be held on Thursday for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections covering 24 seats across 10 states, along with bypolls for one seat each in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

The biennial elections are being held for four seats each in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat; three seats each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh; two seats in Jharkhand; and one seat each in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya.

Out of the 24 Rajya Sabha seats scheduled for biennial elections, 21 have already been decided unopposed. Polling is to be held only for the remaining three seats – two in Jharkhand and one in Mizoram.

Cross-Voting Fear Looms Over Rajya Sabha Elections In Jharkhand

Polling for two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand is taking place between 9 am and 4 pm at the Assembly premises, with counting scheduled to begin around 5 pm after permission from the Election Commission, according to Returning Officer Ranjit Kumar.

Three candidates are contesting the two seats: JMM’s Baidyanath Ram, Congress’s Pranav Jha and BJP-backed Independent nominee Parimal Nathwani.

Also Read: Rajya Sabha Elections 2026 Winners: Mallikarjun Kharge, Tarun Chugh Among 22 MPs Elected Unopposed

A candidate requires a minimum of 28 first-preference votes to win.

The INDIA bloc has 56 MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, comprising 34 from the JMM, 16 from the Congress, four from the RJD and two from CPI(ML) Liberation. The BJP-led NDA has 24 MLAs, which include 21 from the BJP and one each from the LJP (Ram Vilas), AJSU Party and JD(U). The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha has one MLA.

Political activity intensified ahead of polling, with the NDA shifting its MLAs to a hotel in Ranchi, while the ruling INDIA bloc held meetings and conducted mock polling exercises for its legislators amid concerns over possible cross-voting.

One of the Rajya Sabha vacancies arose following the death of JMM co-founder Shibu Soren, while the second seat fell vacant on the completion of BJP member Deepak Prakash’s tenure.

Two Candidates Contest Lone Seat In Mizoram

Polling is also being held for Mizoram’s lone Rajya Sabha seat, where the ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) has fielded party spokesperson K. Laltluangkima against Mizo National Front nominee Zothansangi Hmar.

Voting is being held from 9 am to 4 pm, with counting scheduled from 5 pm at the Assembly building.

Also Read: Can Meenakshi Natarajan Undo Her Rajya Sabha Rejection? Here’s The Catch

In the 40-member Mizoram Assembly, the ZPM has 27 MLAs, the MNF 10, the BJP two and the Congress one legislator.

Both the BJP and the Congress have decided to abstain from voting. Congress MLA C. Ngunlianchunga said he would not cast his vote as suggested by the party high command, while BJP media convener Johny Lalthanpuia said the party’s two legislators would also abstain.

Madhya Pradesh Contest Altered After Congress Nomination Rejected

The contest for three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh took a dramatic turn after the nomination of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan was rejected by the Returning Officer on the grounds that information about a case was allegedly concealed in her affidavit.

The objection was raised by BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat, whose lawyer Sanket Gupta claimed a criminal case pending against Natarajan in Telangana had not been disclosed.

Congress, however, disputed the rejection. Congress’s Madhya Pradesh in-charge, Harish Chaudhary, said no case had been filed against Natarajan and argued that she had only received a show-cause notice, which, according to Election Commission instructions, did not require disclosure in the affidavit. He maintained that “technically, Natarajan’s nomination cannot be rejected."

After Natarajan’s nomination was rejected, all three Rajya Sabha seats were declared elected unopposed in Madhya Pradesh.

With inputs from PTI

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Prisha Vibhavari

Prisha is the Chief Sub-Editor at News18.com, with more than 10 years of experience in national and international news. She specialises in editorial leadership, sharp news judgment, and high-impact st...Read More

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