EC announces Rajya Sabha poll date, Sunetra Pawar's seat up for by-elections

Key points

• The Election Commission of India has announced that elections and by-elections for 26 Rajya Sabha seats across 12 states will be held on June 18. This includes biennial elections for 24 seats in 10 states where members are completing their terms, alongside by-elections for two crucial seats in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• The by-elections will see contests for the seats vacated by Sunetra Ajit Pawar in Maharashtra and CV Shanmugam in Tamil Nadu.
• Meanwhile, the regular biennial elections will fill 24 seats left vacant by retiring veterans.
• Read Full Story The by-election in Maharashtra was necessitated after Pawar resigned from her Rajya Sabha seat following her victory in the Baramati assembly bypoll.
• The assembly seat had fallen vacant after the tragic death of her husband and Maharashtra's former Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar, in a helicopter crash.