The election for 11 Rajya Sabha seats – 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand – will be held on November 9, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday. October 27 is the last date for filing nominations and November 2 will be the last day for withdrawal of candidature.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress leader Raj Babbar and Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav are among the 11 Rajya Sabha MPs whose tenure is set to expire in November.

The Election Commission has laid down guidelines for conducting the poll exercise amid the coronavirus pandemic. Masks, thermal scanning and use of sanitisers would be compulsory. The government-mandated rules on physical distancing would also be strictly followed, the poll body said.

It added that “chief electoral officers as observers in the two states” have been appointed, and the chief secretaries of the two states have been directed to “depute a senior officer to ensure the instructions regarding Covid-19 containment measures are compiled with while making arrangements for conducting the elections”.

Counting of votes will take place on November 9 from 5pm onwards. The notification for the elections would be issued on October 20.

Elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly will also be held in three phases between October 28 and November 7. The counting of votes will take place on November 10.The Bihar Assembly has 243 seats, of which 38 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes.