Rajya Sabha polls in Goa, Gujarat, Bengal rescheduled: EC

Rajya Sabha elections in Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal have been postponed by the Election Commission, an official statement said on Monday without giving any reason for the move. The poll was earlier scheduled to take place on June 8.

An official statement from the poll panel on Monday withdrew an earlier statement announcing the election dates.

The commission said it will announce a programme for holding "Biennial Election to Council of States from Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal in due course."

Rajya Sabha members whose terms come to an end in July and August include Shantaram Naik from Goa; Ahmed Patel and Smriti Irani from Gujarat; and Sitaram Yechury, Derek O'Brien and Sukhendu Shekhar Roy from West Bengal.

Naik's term ends on July 28, while the terms of the other members from Gujarat and West Bengal end on August 18.

The announcement comes ahead of the Presidential election, due in July and the EVM hackathon which is to start on June 3.

The panel has also written to Chief Electoral Officers of five states where elections were concluded recently on the EVM hackathon planned next month.

--IANS

ao/rn