Election Commission sets Rajya Sabha date

India’s Election Commission has paired two separate announcements into one politically sensitive week: Rajya Sabha elections for 24 seats in 10 states on June 18, and the next phase of its Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls across much of the country. (eci.gov.in) The Rajya Sabha schedule is routine in form. The voter-roll revision is not. The Election Commission listed the biennial upper-house polls in a May 22 press release covering seats of members retiring in June and July 2026. A week earlier, on May 14, it said Phase III of SIR would be conducted in 16 states and three union territories, extending the exercise to almost the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, whose schedules will be announced later after census and weather considerations. (eci.gov.in) ### Which elections did the Commission just schedule? The Election Commission said on May 22 that biennial elections to the Council of States, or Rajya Sabha, would be held on June 18 to fill 24 seats falling vacant in 10 states. (eci.gov.in) The announcement appeared in the Commission’s press-release listing for May 22. Rajya Sabha members are elected indirectly by elected members of state legislative assemblies rather than by the public at large. That means the June 18 vote is separate from the voter-roll dispute, even though both announcements came from the same institution in the same week. ### What exactly is Phase III of the SIR exercise? The Election Commission said in its May 14 press note that Phase III of SIR will cover 16 states and three union territories. The exercise will involve 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers going house to house for 36.73 crore electors, assisted by 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents appointed by political parties. (eci.gov.in) The Commission described SIR as a “participative exercise” and asked parties to appoint agents for each polling booth to ensure transparency and participation. The same press note said Phase III would bring SIR to the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The Commission said schedules for those three would come later. ### Why is July 5 getting so much attention? July 5 appears in the Election Commission’s Phase III schedule as the draft-roll publication date for the first cluster of states and union territories, including Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur. For that group, claims and objections run from July 5 to August 4, with final publication scheduled for September 6. (eci.gov.in) The same document shows later draft-roll dates for other clusters: July 10, July 14, July 21 and July 31, depending on the state or union territory. That staggered calendar means the revision will unfold over several months rather than in a single nationwide publication. (eci.gov.in) ### Why has a technical roll revision become politically contentious? Karnataka’s Congress government is considering a Supreme Court petition over the SIR process, according to The Indian Express and The Hindu. The Indian Express reported that Congress leaders planned a May 24 meeting with MLAs, MLCs and candidates defeated in the 2023 state election to discuss the exercise scheduled for Karnataka, while The Hindu said the state government was weighing legal action as SIR in Karnataka is due to begin from June 20. (eci.gov.in) West Bengal is the main reason the issue has become national. The Hindu reported that post-SIR polls in the state were followed by allegations from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that voter deletions and additions had altered the electorate. The Indian Express separately reported that the Supreme Court asked the Trinamool Congress to file a separate plea if it wanted to argue that deletions materially affected election outcomes. (eci.gov.in) ### What is the Commission saying about participation and safeguards? The Election Commission said political parties are expected to take part directly through Booth Level Agents during SIR. In its May 14 note, it said more than 6.3 lakh Booth Level Officers and 9.2 lakh party-appointed agents had already been involved in the first two phases across 13 states and union territories covering nearly 59 crore electors. (indianexpress.com) The Commission’s voter-services portal also hosts a dedicated SIR page and electoral-roll download tools, including state-specific draft and final rolls where available. That makes the next formal checkpoints easy to identify: draft-roll publication dates under the Phase III calendar, claims-and-objections windows, and final-roll publication dates that begin on September 6 for the first cluster. (thehindu.com) (voters.eci.gov.in) (eci.gov.in)