The calendar for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections, which will fill 37 vacant seats, including four from Odisha, was released on Wednesday by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The retirement of current members whose terms are scheduled to expire in April 2026 is the reason for the vacancy.
The tenure of 37 members elected from 10 states will end in April, the Commission announced in an official press release on February 18, 2026. The ECI has chosen to hold biennial elections in compliance with the established electoral procedure in order to fill these vacancies.

The election notification is scheduled to be sent out on February 26, 2026. Nominations must be submitted by March 5th, and nomination papers will be reviewed on March 6th.

If necessary, voting will take place from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on March 16, 2026. At 5:00 p.m. on the same day, the votes will be counted. The deadline for finishing the entire election procedure is March 20, 2026.

Voters are required by the Commission to indicate their preferences on the ballot paper using only integrated violet-colored sketch pens that meet a predetermined standard and are provided by the Returning Officer. No other pen will be allowed to be used.
The ECI added that sufficient safeguards, including as the hiring of observers, will be implemented to guarantee rigorous oversight and the seamless running of free and fair elections.Notably, on April 2, 2026, the terms of four Odisha Rajya Sabha MPs—Madama Mohanta, Muzibulla Khan, Sujeet Kumar, and Nirnjan Bishi—will come to an end.