New Delhi, August 29: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced the by-elections schedule for two Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. According to dates announced by the ECI, the by-polls for two Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh will be held on September 23. Polling will be held between 9 am to 4 pm. Counting of votes will begin at 5 pm and results will be declared on the same day. By-Elections to 4 Assembly Seats in Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh to be Held on September 23.

The two Rajya Sabha seats fell vacant after two former Samajwadi Party (SP) members - Surendra Singh Nagar and Sanjay Seth - resigned from the Upper House of Parliament. Surendra Singh Nagar resigned from Rajya Sabha on August 2, while Sanjay Seth submitted his resignation on August 5. Both quit the SP and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on August 10. The two resignation brought down SP numbers from 12 to 10.

Nagar’s term was until 2022. He joined the SP only in 2014 after the Lok Sabha polls. Earlier, he was also with the BSP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal getting nominated to the Uttar Pradesh Council from both. In 2009, he got elected to the Lok Sabha on the BSP ticket. Seth is a well-known realtor of Uttar Pradesh who was the SP's treasurer. Neeraj Shekhar, son of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, was the first to quit the SP and join the BJP on July 15.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 29, 2019 12:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).