With the term of five members of the Rajya Sabha elected from the State of Punjab is due to expire in April 2022, Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced schedule for biennial Elections to the Council of States from the State of Punjab. The term of office of Rajya Sabha members including Sukhdev Singh, Partap Singh Bajwa, Shwait Malik, Naresh Gujral and Shamsher Singh Dullo elected from the State of Punjab is due to expire on their retirement on April 9, 2022.Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Dr S Karuna Raju on Sunday said that according to the schedule, the issue of the notification is on March 14, 2022 and Last date of making Nominations would be March 21, 2022, while scrutiny of nominations would be done on March 22, 2022.
The last date of withdrawal of candidature has been fixed on March 24, 2022. The date for polling has been fixed on March 31, 2022 from 9am to 4pm, whereas the counting will also be held on the same day at 5pm. The election shall be completed before April 2, 2022, he added.Dr Raju further informed that Nomination Papers are to be filed with the Secretary, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Chandigarh, who is the Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha Election, between the hours of 11 AM in the forenoon and 3 PM in the afternoon on any day other than a public holiday from 14.03.2022 to 21.03.2022. March 18, 2022 being a Holi festival and March 20, 2022 being a Sunday will be a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881; therefore, nomination papers cannot be presented to the Returning Officer on that day, however, March 19, 2022 being a Saturday is not a holiday and nomination papers can be presented to the Returning Officer, he informed.
The nomination papers are to be filed in Form 2C, he said, adding that Blank forms are available with the Secretary, Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Typed nomination papers will also be accepted provided that the Forms are in the prescribed format, he added.In order to qualify for members of the Council of States, a candidate should be registered as an elector for any Parliamentary Constituency in India. To satisfy the concerned Returning Officer on this point, candidates should produce a certified copy of the relevant entry of the electoral roll in force.A candidate is also required to make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in the prescribed form before the concerned Returning Officer or any other person so authorized by the Election Commission of India. The oath/affirmation will be taken/made by a candidate after his nomination paper has been filed and before the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations.