Elections to six Rajya Sabha seats that are set to be vacated in June and July would be held on June 19, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said in a press note on Monday.
The counting of votes for the elections in three States would be held the same day, the ECI said.
On Monday, the ECI said in a statement that elections to 18 Rajya Sabha seats that had been deferred in March due to the COVID-19 lockdown would be held on June 19.
The seats in Karnataka held by Prabhakar Kore, B.K. Hariprasad, D. Kupendra Reddy and Rajeev Gowda M.V. are set to be vacated on June 26. The term of Arunachal Pradesh MP Mukul Mithi is set to end on June 23 and that of Mizoram MP Ronald Sapa Tlau on July 18.
The ECI has ordered the use of only “integrated violet colour sketch pen(s) of pre-fixed specification” that are given by the Returning Officer for voters to mark their preference on the ballot paper.
It said, “Adequate measures for close monitoring of the election process by appointing observers shall be taken to ensure free and fair election. Commission has also directed the Chief Secretaries concerned to depute a senior officer from the State to ensure that the extant instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with while making arrangements for conducting the elections.”
The Chief Electoral Officers had been appointed as observers of the elections, the ECI said.