Bypolls to two Rajya Sabha seats from UP on Sep 23

Bypolls to two Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh, that had fallen vacant earlier this month following the resignations of the sitting Samajwadi Party members, will be held on September 23, the Election Commission announced on Thursday.

The Election Commission issued a notification on Thursday for the by-elections.

The seats had fallen vacant after Samajwadi Party MPs Surendra Singh Nagar and Sanjay Seth had resigned in the first week of August. While Nagar had resigned on August 2, Seth had put in his papers on August 5.

The terms of both MPs were set to expire in July 2022.

After their resignations, both joined the BJP on August 10.

Nagar is a two-time MP having represented the Gautam Buddha Nagar Lok Sabha in the past, while Seth is a real estate developer based in Uttar Pradesh and was also the Samajwadi Party's treasurer earlier. 

It is speculated that BJP might field both Nagar and Seth only in the bypolls.

With the resignation of these two, the Samajwadi Party has been left with only 10 members in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP has the highest number of members (78)in the upper house of the Parliament. IANS