The March 16 Battlefront: Why 37 Rajya Sabha Seats Are Currently Shaking Up Indian Politics

Townhall Times, New Delhi

Reporter: Bhavika Kalra

Today is Wednesday, February 18, 2026, and the Election Commission (ECI) just dropping the calendar that every political strategist in Delhi has been dreading and dreaming about. We are talking about the biennial elections for 37 seats in the Rajya Sabha.

To a regular person, this sounds like paperwork. To a politician, this is a “live or die” moment for their legislative agenda.

1. The “Big Bang” Schedule: Mark Your Calendars

The ECI doesn’t mess around. They’ve laid out a timeline that moves faster than a T20 match:

Feb 26: The official “War Cry” (Nominations open).
March 5: Last day to put your name in the hat.
March 16 (The Big Day): Voting starts at 9:00 AM. By 5:00 PM, the counting begins. By dinner time, we’ll know who’s in and who’s out.

2. The Geography of the Fight: Where are the seats?

This isn’t happening in just one place. It’s a 10-state scramble. Here is the “hit list” of seats falling vacant this April:

State	Seats	Why it’s a “War Zone”
Maharashtra	7	The biggest prize. With the NCP and Shiv Sena split into factions, nobody knows which MLA will vote for whom.
Tamil Nadu	6	The DMK is sitting pretty, but the AIADMK and BJP are desperate to steal a seat here.
Bihar	5	Nitish Kumar vs. Tejashwi Yadav. Expect high drama and possible “heartbreaks.”
West Bengal	5	Mamata Banerjee’s fortress. The BJP is trying to breach the walls.
Odisha	4	The BJD used to own this, but the BJP is now a massive force here.
Assam	3	Himanta Biswa Sarma has the math in his pocket, but the opposition is crying foul.
Telangana	2	A prestige battle for the Congress to show they still own the state.
Haryana	2	The BJP is confident, but local resentment could make this tricky.
Chhattisgarh	2	A straight-up fight between the two national giants.
Himachal	1	Remember the cross-voting shocker last time? Everyone is on high alert.

3. The Legends Stepping Down

We are losing some “Parliamentary Rockstars” this April. Whether you love them or hate them, the House won’t feel the same without:

Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP): The veteran of veterans. Is this his final bow, or does he have one last trick?
Abhishek Manu Singhvi (INC): The legal brain of the Congress. Losing him would be a huge blow to the opposition’s debating power.
Ramdas Athawale (RPI-A): The man who brings rhymes and smiles to a heated House.
Harivansh Narayan Singh (JDU): The Deputy Chairman himself. His seat is a massive prestige point for the NDA.

4. Why This Election is “Different” (The Secret Sauce)

If you want to know why this isn’t an “AI-generated” routine event, look at the legislative stakes.

The NDA’s “Magic Number” Quest: The BJP-led NDA is hovering around the 115-120 mark. They need 123 for a simple majority. If they win big on March 16, they won’t have to “request” neutral parties like BRS or YSRCP to pass laws anymore. They can just do it.

The “One Nation, One Election” Factor: The government wants simultaneous elections. To do that, they need to change the Constitution. You can’t change the Constitution without a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha. These 37 seats are the stepping stones to that goal.

The “Violet Pen” Obsession: Did you know the ECI provides a specific violet sketch pen? If an MLA uses their own pen—even if it’s the same color—the vote is canceled. This is to stop “coded voting” where parties tell their MLAs to use specific marks to prove they didn’t cross-vote. It’s a spy-movie level of detail.

5. The “Crossvoting” Ghost

Every party is terrified of “crossvoting.” In the Rajya Sabha, MLAs have to show their ballot to their party agent (it’s an “Open Ballot”). But even then, rebels sometimes choose to get disqualified just to embarrass their party.

In Maharashtra and Bihar, the political alliances are so tangled that “who is on whose side” changes every Friday. Watch out for some shocking “independent” wins on March 16.

6. The National Impact: 2026 to 2029

This election will set the tone for the next three years.

If the NDA sweeps, expect a “July Blitz” in the Monsoon Session with massive reforms (Land, Labor, and even the Uniform Civil Code).
If the INDIA Bloc holds their ground, Parliament remains a “checks and balances” system where the government has to negotiate.

The Final Word

The Rajya Sabha isn’t just a “retirement home” for politicians. It’s the engine room of Indian law. On March 16, the fuel for that engine will be decided.

Keep an eye on Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh. Those are the places where the real “masala” will be.