EC declares schedule for lone council vacancy
The date for the issue of notification is January 11 while January 22 would be the last date for withdrawal of nomination.
The Election Commission has issued notification for the election to the lone legislative council seat that was declared vacant after former deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma resigned on September 13 last year after becoming the Rajya Sabha MP.
Brij Bhushan Dubey, the returning officer for the MLC poll, said that – though unlikely but if required – council poll would be held on January 29.
Each MLC is elected for a period of six years, but in this case, since Sharma resigned after serving a part of his term, the tenure of the new MLC would be till January 30, 2027.
The date for the issue of notification is January 11 while January 22 would be the last date for withdrawal of nomination.
BJP is set to improve its already dominant position in the Council as it is unlikely to have any problem in getting its candidate elected unopposed. That’s because it enjoys a comfortable majority with 254 MLAs in the 403-member Vidhan Sabha.
The MLAs vote in the legislative council polls and hence the win of anyone whom BJP chooses or backs, is a foregone conclusion.
However, after this lone vacancy, the term of another 13 MLCs will expire on May 5 and for which there could be a contest if either the BJP or the Samajwadi Party, the only two parties with MLAs to win council seats, decide to push for an ‘additional’ seat, meaning one more than what their present strength in the UP assembly justifies.
The BJP dominates the 100-member legislative council with 81 MLCs with Samajwadi Party with 9 MLCs being a distant second in the upper house of the state legislature.
However, before those 13 vacancies, 10 Rajya Sabha seats from UP would be vacant as the term of as many MPs from UP is ending on April 2.
