NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Tuesday the schedule for by-polls to fill five Legislative Council vacancies across four states. Voting for these seats will be held on July 12.
Simultaneously, in a separate notification, the poll panel also announced biennial elections for 11 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, scheduled for the same date.
Three of the five vacancies arose due to the resignation of members of the Legislative Council (MLCs), while the remaining two seats were vacated due to disqualification.
In Karnataka, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar resigned as an MLC in January. He subsequently left the BJP to join the Congress after being denied a ticket for the Dharwad Central Assembly seat. He rejoined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and won the parliamentary election.
A vacancy in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council occurred when Swami Prasad Maurya resigned from the Samajwadi Party and the House in February. Similarly, one seat each in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh fell vacant due to the disqualification of incumbent members. Another seat in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council became vacant in April following the resignation of YSRCP MLC Shaikh Mohammed Iqbal.
Additionally, 11 MLCs in Maharashtra are set to retire on July 27. Among these, four are from the BJP, two from the Congress, while the NCP, Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT), Peasants and Workers Party, and Rashtriya Samaj Party each have one representative retiring.
Biennial elections
In a separate notification, the poll panel also announced biennial elections for 11 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, scheduled for July 12. Eleven MLCs in the state are set to retire on July 27, just months ahead of the assembly polls.