<p>The Election Commission (EC) set in motion today the process for filling up four vacant UP Legislative Council seats by issuing the notification for the by-polls.<br /><br />There has been speculation that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his two deputies and a minister could become legislators within the stipulated six-month period after assuming office by getting elected to the Upper House.<br /><br />Chief electoral officer Amrita Soni said the notification was issued today.<br />The last date for filing nominations is September 5 and the scrutiny will be done the next day. The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is September 8.</p>.<p><br />Polling will be held on September 15 and counting of votes will be done the same day.<br />Soni said the EC had also announced today the schedule for the bypoll to the fifth vacant seat in the UP Council, for which a notification will be issued on August 31.<br /><br />The Election Commission had announced on August 24 the election schedule for the four vacant seats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.</p>.<p><br />Adityanath, who took over as the chief minister on March 19, has to become a legislator within six months of assuming office and the deadline expires on September 19.<br />Besides Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, and ministers Swatantra Dev Singh and Mohsin Raza are not member of either of the two Houses.<br />Adityanath and Maurya are still members of the Lok Sabha.<br />All of them have to get elected to either the assembly or the legislative council before September 19 -- when they complete six months -- in order to continue as ministers.</p>.<p><br />If Adityanath chooses the council route, he will become the third successive chief minister, after Akhilesh Yadav (SP) and Mayawati (BSP), to opt for the upper house.<br /><br />The four seats for which bypolls will be held on September 15 were vacated by MLCs Bukkal Nawab, Yashwant, Sarojini Agarwal and Ashok Bajpai - all members of the Samajwadi Party.<br /><br />Another seat fell vacant when Thakur Jaiveer Singh, a former BSP MLC resigned from the party and joined BJP.<br /><br />There has been speculation that Adityanath and his four colleagues could contest from these five seats.<br /><br />Other UP chief ministers who had opted for the Legislative Council route are Narain Dutt Tiwari and late Ram Prakash Gupta (BJP).<br /><br />Former chief minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh had become a member of UP Legislative Council in November 1980 after assuming the chief minister's office in June 1980.<br /><br />He later contested a by-election from Tindwari assembly constituency, and became a member of UP Legislative Assembly in 1981. </p>
<p>The Election Commission (EC) set in motion today the process for filling up four vacant UP Legislative Council seats by issuing the notification for the by-polls.<br /><br />There has been speculation that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his two deputies and a minister could become legislators within the stipulated six-month period after assuming office by getting elected to the Upper House.<br /><br />Chief electoral officer Amrita Soni said the notification was issued today.<br />The last date for filing nominations is September 5 and the scrutiny will be done the next day. The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is September 8.</p>.<p><br />Polling will be held on September 15 and counting of votes will be done the same day.<br />Soni said the EC had also announced today the schedule for the bypoll to the fifth vacant seat in the UP Council, for which a notification will be issued on August 31.<br /><br />The Election Commission had announced on August 24 the election schedule for the four vacant seats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.</p>.<p><br />Adityanath, who took over as the chief minister on March 19, has to become a legislator within six months of assuming office and the deadline expires on September 19.<br />Besides Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, and ministers Swatantra Dev Singh and Mohsin Raza are not member of either of the two Houses.<br />Adityanath and Maurya are still members of the Lok Sabha.<br />All of them have to get elected to either the assembly or the legislative council before September 19 -- when they complete six months -- in order to continue as ministers.</p>.<p><br />If Adityanath chooses the council route, he will become the third successive chief minister, after Akhilesh Yadav (SP) and Mayawati (BSP), to opt for the upper house.<br /><br />The four seats for which bypolls will be held on September 15 were vacated by MLCs Bukkal Nawab, Yashwant, Sarojini Agarwal and Ashok Bajpai - all members of the Samajwadi Party.<br /><br />Another seat fell vacant when Thakur Jaiveer Singh, a former BSP MLC resigned from the party and joined BJP.<br /><br />There has been speculation that Adityanath and his four colleagues could contest from these five seats.<br /><br />Other UP chief ministers who had opted for the Legislative Council route are Narain Dutt Tiwari and late Ram Prakash Gupta (BJP).<br /><br />Former chief minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh had become a member of UP Legislative Council in November 1980 after assuming the chief minister's office in June 1980.<br /><br />He later contested a by-election from Tindwari assembly constituency, and became a member of UP Legislative Assembly in 1981. </p>