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Rajya Sabha polls for 13 seats in 6 states on March 31

Photo : PTINew Delhi: Polling for 13 Rajya Sabha seats across six states will be held on March 31, confirmed the Election Commission of India on Monday.The elections have been necessitated following the retirement of the incumbents in April. Congress veterans AK Antony and Anand Sharma are among the 13 Rajya Sabha members set to retire next month.In an official statement, the Election Commission stated that out of the five seats to be filled from Punjab, three are to be filled by holding one election and the other two through another election as these seats belong to two different biennial cycles.It must be noted that members from Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Nagaland and Tripura are retiring on April 2, while five members from Punjab are retiring on April 9.According to the poll panel, the biennial elections will be held on March 31 and the counting of votes will be held on the same day from 5 pm onwards. The notification for them will be issued on March 14.Prominent among the members who are retiring are AK Antony (Kerala), Anand Sharma (Himachal Pradesh), and Pratap Singh Bajwa and Naresh Gujral (Punjab).While former defence minister Antony, Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha Sharma and Bajwa are from the Congress, Gujaral is from the Shiromani Akali Dal.The Rajya Sabha nominations from Punjab will depend on the performance of parties in the state in the February 20 Assembly polls. There has been no vacancy in the past five years during the Congress government in the state.While five seats are falling vacant in Punjab, three are falling vacant in Kerala, two in Assam and one each in HP, Nagaland and Tripura.Related NewsAssembly Elections: Will Congress shift MLAs of 5 states to Rajasthan before poll results on March 10?

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