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PANAJI
The election to elect the lone Rajya Sabha MP from Goa will be held on June 8 as the term of the incumbent member Shantaram Naik of the Congress party expires on July 28.
As per the communication received from the Election Commission of India, a notification for the RS poll in the state would be issued on May 22, setting in the process of filing of nominations.
May 29 is the last date for filing nominations, which will be scrutinised on May 30. Candidatures, if any, can be withdrawn on June 1.
The term of the Rajya Sabha member is of six years, while the one-third of its members retires in every two years.
The ECI has directed the chief electoral offices of the states of Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal to hold the biennial elections to the Council of States on June 8. The voting will be held on June 8 from 9 am to 4 pm, and the votes will be counted on the same day at 5 pm.
Naik had been elected for two terms as Rajya Sabha member from Goa: he was first elected in 2005 and later in 2011.
PTI ADDS FROM NEW DELHI: The term of several prominent faces in the Rajya Sabha, including Union minister Smriti Irani, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien, is set to end in July and August.
The Election Commission has announced elections to ten seats in the Rajya Sabha from three states on June 8 for which a formal notification would be issued on May 22.
Out of the ten retiring members, four are from Trinamool Congress, three from Congress, two from BJP and one from the CPI-M.
While the term of Naik is coming to an end on July 28, the retirement of Ahmed Patel (Congress), Dilipbhai Pandya (BJP) and Irani (BJP) — all from Gujarat — is due on August 18.
The tenure of members from West Bengal — Derek O’Brien (TMC), Debabrata Bandhopadhyay (TMC), Pradip Bhattacharya (Congress), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), Sukhenduhakhar Roy (TMC) and Dola Sen (TMC) are also ending on August 18.
Since the presidential polls are due before July 24, these members will be able to cast their ballot in the election as their retirement is due after that.
