Uttar Pradesh to Witness Series of Elections in October

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh will witness a series of elections in October with the Election Commission of India announcing schedules for 10 Rajya Sabha seats and 11 seats of the Legislative Council from graduate and teacher constituencies. Rajya Sabha Polls For 10 UP Seats On October 16 Polling for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on October 16, while elections to 11 Legislative Council seats from graduate and teacher constituencies will take place on October 23. The Rajya Sabha seats are falling vacant as the terms of 10 sitting members from Uttar Pradesh are due to end in November 2026. The Election Commission announced the schedule on Tuesday. MLAs To Vote In Rajya Sabha Election The notification for the Rajya Sabha elections will be issued on September 29 and the last date for filing nominations is October 6. Nomination papers will be scrutinised on October 7 and candidates can withdraw their nominations until October 9. Polling for the Rajya Sabha seats will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on October 16. Counting will begin at 5 pm on the same day and the results will be declared after the counting process. The entire election process is to be completed by October 19. 11 Legislative Council Seats To Go For Polls On October 23 MLAs will vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. The Election Commission has directed that voters use only the special violet-coloured sketch pens provided by the commission for marking their ballots. The commission has also announced the schedule for biennial elections to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council from graduate and teacher constituencies. The elections are being held as the terms of the sitting members from these constituencies are coming to an end. Polling for these seats will be held on October 23 from 8 am to 4 pm, while counting will take place on October 27. The entire process will be completed by October 31. The notification for the Legislative Council elections will also be issued on September 29. The last date for filing nominations is October 6, followed by scrutiny on October 7. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until October 9. The elections will be held for five graduate constituencies: Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-Jhansi. Six teacher constituencies will also go to polls: Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-Faizabad. With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the concerned constituencies. The October elections will set the stage for a series of political contests in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, with parties required to finalise candidates and mobilise their organisational machinery in the constituencies going to polls.