Ten states will hold Rajya Sabha elections following the Election Commission’s September 29 notification.
These are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Mizoram.
A total of 27 seats are involved.
The elections include a mix of biennial polls and bye-elections.
Rajya Sabha members are elected by state assembly legislators, not the general public.
The seats fall vacant across ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Mizoram.
The elections include a mix of biennial polls, for seats with terms ending on schedule, and bye-elections, for seats vacated before their term’s end.
Rajya Sabha members are elected indirectly by members of state legislative assemblies.
The election uses a system of proportional representation through a single transferable vote.
The Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, has 245 members in total, with 233 elected by states and union territories and 12 nominated by the President.
One-third of Rajya Sabha members retire every two years, with elections held to fill the resulting vacancies.
The 2026 Rajya Sabha election cycle overall covers 72 seats across the year, from March through November.
Political parties typically begin candidate selection processes soon after an Election Commission notification is issued.
State assembly numbers determine the vote share each party commands in electing its state’s Rajya Sabha members.
Rajya Sabha elections do not involve direct voting by the general public, unlike Lok Sabha elections.
The Rajya Sabha plays a co-equal role with the Lok Sabha in most legislative matters, except money bills.
Election schedules, including nomination, scrutiny and polling dates, are announced by the Election Commission following the notification.
The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body that is never fully dissolved, unlike the Lok Sabha.
Each state’s number of Rajya Sabha seats is roughly proportional to its population, as fixed under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.
Rajya Sabha chamber, New Parliament building (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India
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