New Delhi. The Election Commission has announced the schedule for elections to 11 Rajya Sabha seats. Voting for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh and one seat in Uttarakhand will take place on October 16. A by-election for one Rajya Sabha seat in West Bengal will also be held on the same day.

Of the 10 Uttar Pradesh seats going to the polls, eight are currently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These include the Rajya Sabha seat held by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party currently hold one seat each.

The terms of nine Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh and one member from Uttarakhand are scheduled to end on November 25. Another Uttar Pradesh seat fell vacant after Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma resigned from the Upper House on September 11. He was subsequently appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Following the announcement of the Rajya Sabha election schedule, political activity in Uttar Pradesh is expected to increase around potential candidates and electoral equations.