Rajya Sabha Byelection Nomination Withdrawal Date Extended Due to Janmashtami

The nomination withdrawal deadline for the Rajya Sabha byelection in Madhya Pradesh has been extended to August 27 due to Janmashtami. The seat was vacated after Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia won the Lok Sabha election. The BJP, with a strong majority, is expected to win the seat.

The deadline for withdrawing nominations for the byelection to Madhya Pradesh's sole vacant Rajya Sabha seat has been extended to August 27, due to the Janmashtami holiday, a senior election official announced on Tuesday.

This seat became vacant following Rajya Sabha member and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's victory in the Lok Sabha election from the Guna constituency.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan confirmed this change in a press release, stating that the withdrawal process will now take place on August 27 instead of August 26.

The Election Commission of India issued a notification for the by-election on August 7, with the nomination process commencing on August 14 and continuing until August 21. Nomination papers will be scrutinized on August 22, the CEO added.

Voting is scheduled for September 3, from 9 AM to 4 PM, with the counting and declaration of results set to occur that same day.

The BJP is yet to officially announce its candidate; however, given the party's majority in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, the BJP nominee is expected to win comfortably if voting proceeds.

Rajya Sabha members are elected by the MLAs of a legislative assembly through proportional representation and the single transferable vote (STV) system.

In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly, BJP holds 163 seats, Congress has 64, and Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) holds one. Two seats are currently vacant.