Bhubaneswar: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a bye-election to fill the casual vacancy in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) from Odisha.
The vacancy arose following the resignation of sitting Rajya Sabha member Debashish Samantaray on May 25. His term was scheduled to continue till April 3, 2030.
The Election Commission of India has announced the detailed schedule for the Rajya Sabha bye-election from Odisha.
According to a notification issued by the Election Commission of India, the process will begin with the issue of notification on June 01, 2026 (Monday). The last date for filing nominations is June 08, 2026 (Monday), while the scrutiny of nominations will take place on June 09, 2026 (Tuesday). Candidates can withdraw their nominations till June 11, 2026 (Thursday).The polling will be held on June 18, 2026 (Thursday) between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM. The counting of votes will take place on the same day at 5:00 PM, and the entire election process is expected to be completed by June 20, 2026 (Saturday).
The Commission has directed that only the integrated violet colour sketch pen provided by the Returning Officer shall be used for marking preferences on the ballot paper. No other pen will be allowed. Adequate measures will be taken for close monitoring of the entire election process to ensure free and fair conduct of the bye-election.
