Rajya Sabha elections 2026 for 37 seats set for March 16 across 10 states
Vacancies across key states including Bengal and Maharashtra trigger complex alliance math with several high profile leaders retiring
New Delhi, February 19, 2026, dmanewsdesk: Elections to 37 Rajya Sabha seats from 10 states will be held on March 16, just before Assembly polls are expected in three of these states, including Bengal.
Thirty-six members have completed their six-year terms, and one — Mausam Noor — resigned last month and returned to the Congress from Trinamool.
At present, the INDIA bloc holds 19 of the seats and the NDA 14. However, BJP majorities in six of these states could tilt the tally in favour of the party. The changes will further strengthen the NDA’s majority in the Rajya Sabha.
The five seats from Bengal include those of Trinamool’s Saket Gokhale, Ritabrata Banerjee and Subrata Bakshi, CPM’s Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya and Noor. The BJP is expected to gain the CPM’s seat, ending the Left party’s electoral legislative representation from the state.
Key retiring Rajya Sabha members include deputy Chairman Harivansh of the JDU, Union minister Ramdas Athawale, Sharad Pawar (NCP), M. Thambidurai (AIADMK), Abhishek Manu Singhvi (Congress), Upendra Kushwaha (Rashtriya Lok Morcha) and Tiruchi Siva (DMK).
In Maharashtra, where the INDIA bloc has four outgoing MPs, it may be able to elect only one MP with the combined support of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP and the Congress. The candidate could be Pawar if he chooses to contest. There are seven vacancies from the state.
In Bihar, with five vacancies, the combined Opposition may need the support of the AIMIM and the BSP if it has to elect even a single MP. Of the outgoing MPs, besides NDA ally Kushwaha, the JDU and the RJD have two MPs each. The JDU is yet to announce whether it would field Harivansh again.
It is status quo in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK holds four seats and the AIADMK and its ally Tamil Maanila Congress (Moppanar) have one seat each. The Congress wants to be part of the state government, which the DMK has refused and slammed the brakes on seat sharing.
There has been no word from either party on whether the Congress would be given a Rajya Sabha seat. It remains to be seen if TMC(M) member G.K. Vasan is fielded again or the AIADMK backs a candidate from ally BJP. The second NDA seat is tricky as the Pattali Makkal Katchi is a divided house and the loyalty of its MLAs is in doubt.
The Congress is expected to gain a seat in Himachal Pradesh and lose in Chhattisgarh to the BJP. The BJP is expected to lose one to the Congress in Haryana. To win, the Congress would need to field joint candidates for a seat each in Assam and Odisha with the AIUDF and the BJD, respectively.
Source: The Telegraph online
