Elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats in 8 states of the country today, the fate of veteran leaders at stake

- The counting of votes will start as soon as the election is over in the evening
- 19th Gujarat's four, Andhra's four, m. Three seats in the region, three in Rajasthan, two in Jharkhand and one each in Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya.
- Rules framed by Election Commission following Corona: MLA must have body temperature checked before voting

V Delhi, dated 18 June 2020, Thursday

Elections for a total of 12 Rajya Sabha seats will be held in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya tomorrow. These 12 seats include four in Gujarat, four in Andhra Pradesh, three in Madhya Pradesh, three in Rajasthan, two in Jharkhand and one each in Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

The counting of votes in all these 12 seats will start tomorrow evening. It is to be mentioned that in Rajya Sabha elections only MLAs have to vote. The people do not have to vote in this election like in the Lok Sabha elections. Adequate preparations have been made by the Election Commission in view of the Corona epidemic. Each legislator's body temperature will be checked before voting.

In addition, every legislator must wear a mask and observe social distance. MLAs who have a fever or other symptoms will be kept in a separate waiting room. It is to be mentioned that since horse trading has been taking place before the Rajya Sabha elections for some time now, the Rajya Sabha elections have started with resort politics. In most of the states, there will be a fierce clash between the Congress and the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today agreed to hear petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to allow the use of postal ballots in Rajya Sabha elections. The decision of the Election Commission has been challenged by Gujarat Opposition Leader Paresh Dhanani.