The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced that elections to the deferred 18 Rajya Sabha seats would be held on June 19, 2020.
The elections for the 18 seats in seven states, which were to be conducted in March earlier this year, were deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the countrywide lockdown.
The ECI said in a statement that the commission decided the date of polling and counting on June 19 after reviewing the matter and taking into account the May 5, 2020 guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry and taking into account the inputs obtained from the Chief Electoral Officers concerned.
Polling for the 18 seats- four each are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, two from Jharkhand, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and one each from Manipur and Meghalaya, will begin at 9 am on June 19 and will continue till 4 pm. Counting of votes would begin at 5 pm the same day, the ECI stated.
"The Commission has also decided that the chiefs secretaries shall 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. Further commission has appointed Chief Electoral Officer concerned as observer for the election in the respective state," it added.
