The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deferred the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for March 26 given the COVID-19 pandemic, news agency PTI reported. Elections to fill up 55 seats in the Upper House of Parliament was to be held on March 26, but 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest. The decision on holding the election for the remaining 18 seats will be taken based on the prevailing situation, sources told PTI.
The 55 Rajya Sabha seats from 17 states fall vacant due to retirement of members. While notification for the biennial elections was issued on March 6, March 13 was considered the last date of filing nominations. Counting was to be held on the same day, March 26, an hour after the conclusion of polls. Prominent among those retiring are NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Union minister Ramdas Athawale (RPI-Athawale), Congress veteran Motilal Vora and former union minister Vijay Goel (BJP). Jyotiraditya Scindia, who defected from the Congress to the BJP, will be one of the high-profile contestants from Madhya Pradesh.
Nearly 500 coronavirus cases have been reported in India so far, according to health ministry data. As cases of the viral infection surged, authorities have put almost the entire country under lockdown, banning gathering of people and suspending road, rail and air traffic till March 31.
Restrictions and lockdowns have been issued in almost all states now. Punjab, on Monday, became the first in the country to impose curfew in the entire state with no relaxations, and only exempted essential services to prevent the infection, while Maharshtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said curfew will be imposed in the entire state from Monday midnight as the fight against coronavirus has reached a "turning point".
