Bypolls to five legislative council vacancies in four States on July 12

Bypolls to fill five legislative council vacancies in four States will be held on July 12, the Election Commission said on June 18.

Elections to three of the five seats were necessitated due to the resignation of members of legislative council (MLCs) and to the remaining two due to disqualification.

In Karnataka, former chief minister Jagadish Shettar had resigned as an MLC in January. He had quit the BJP and joined the Congress after being denied a ticket to contest the election from the Dharwad Central Assembly seat which he represented.

Mr. Shettar had later rejoined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and won the parliamentary election.

A vacancy was created in the Uttar Pradesh legislative council when Swami Prasad Maurya quit the Samajwadi Party and resigned from the House in February.

One seat each in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh fell vacant due to the disqualification of sitting members.

Another seat in the Andhra Pradesh legislative council fell vacant in April when YSR Congress Party MLC Shaikh Mohammed Iqbal resigned from the party as well as his membership.