New Delhi, March 23: The Election Commission, in light of the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak in India, may defer the March 26 biennial polls to 18 Rajya Sabha seats, according to a report by TOI. The total strength of Rajya Sabha will be reduced if elections are not held as the term of 18 members will end on April 2. Gujarat, where four Rajya Sabha seats are up for grab, has already requested the Election Commission to postpone the polls in view of the ongoing lockdown over the coronavirus outbreak. Coronavirus Outbreak Live News Updates.

"If the situation demands, biennial elections to Rajya Sabha can be postponed. Only consequence would be that the membership of Rajya Sabha would be that much less till new members are elected. There is no mandatory requirement that all Rajya Sabha seats should be filled up at all times," a legal expert was quoted as saying in the TOI report. The EC declared had declared polls to 55 Rajya Sabha seats on February 25. Coronavirus Outbreak in India: Strictly Enforce Lockdown, Take Legal Action Against Violators, Centre Tells States.

Another seat had fallen vacant and bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Birender Singh. Out of 56, 37 seats have been filled as respective candidates were elected unopposed. On one Rajya Sabha seat in West Bengal, nomination papers of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate was rejected due to technical reasons.

Therefore, polls to 18 seats — four each in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, three each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, two in Jharkhand and one each in Manipur and Meghalaya — are now due. The number of coronavirus cases has risen to 415, with seven deaths so far. Gujarat, Bihar and Maharashtra reported a death each on Sunday. Four fatalities were reported earlier from Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2020 01:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).