New Delhi, Sep 22: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the biennial elections for 11 Rajya Sabha seats, along with a by-election for one seat from West Bengal, on October 16.

Of the 11 seats going to the polls in the biennial elections, 10 are from Uttar Pradesh, and one is from Uttarakhand. The West Bengal election will be held to fill a casual vacancy in the Upper House.

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the notification for the elections will be issued on September 29, while the last date for filing nominations will be October 6.

The scrutiny of nominations will be conducted on October 7, followed by the last date for withdrawal of candidature on October 9.

Polling for the Rajya Sabha seats will be held on October 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., while counting of votes will begin at 5 p.m. on the same day.

In Uttar Pradesh, the terms of 10 sitting Rajya Sabha members are coming to an end. The members whose terms are expiring include Arun Singh, Geeta alias Chandraprabha, Brij Lal, Ram Gopal Yadav, Ramji Gautam, B.L. Verma, Seema Dwivedi, Dinesh Sharma and Hardeep Singh Puri.

In Uttarakhand, the by-election is necessitated by the completion of the term of sitting Rajya Sabha member Naresh Bansal.

The West Bengal seat is being filled through a by-election following the resignation of Rukmini Mallick from the Rajya Sabha. Mallick’s resignation was the fourth such resignation by a Trinamool Congress MP since the Mamata Banerjee-led party was ousted from power in West Bengal.

The October 16 elections will therefore cover both scheduled retirements and a casual vacancy in the Upper House. The ECI has laid out the complete election process from notification and nomination to polling and counting.

New Delhi, Sep 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the death of Dubai Ruler’s brother, Shaikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and lauded his efforts to serve the society. In his message, PM Modi offered condolences to the Royal family and the people of Dubai.

“Deeply saddened by the passing of His Highness Shaikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. His efforts to serve society will be cherished by generations to come. I convey heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family and the people of Dubai. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” PM Modi posted on X.

Earlier in the day, Dubai Ruler Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s court announced that Shaikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum died on Monday morning. He was 76. A 10-day official mourning has been declared in Dubai.

“The Court of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, mourns the passing of the late Shaikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum this morning, Monday. The Court has declared a 10-day period of official mourning in Dubai, during which flags will be flown at half-mast, effective today, Monday,” the Government of Dubai Media Office posted on X.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also paid a personal tribute to his brother.

Shaikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was the fourth and youngest son of the late ruler of Dubai, Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum. He served as Dubai Police and Public Security’s Deputy Chairman, Group Chairman of A.R.M. Holding, and President of Al Wasl Sports Club.

After graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Shaikh Ahmed joined the Central Military Base in Dubai and later became the Commander in Chief of the base, according to the Al Wasl Sports Club website. In the early 1990s, Shaikh Ahmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum established the Jebel Ali racecourse to promote horse racing in the UAE. Shaikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been the president of Al Wasl Sports Club for 60 years.

Ahmedabad/Gir Somnath, Sep 21: A bomb-threat email naming the Somnath Temple and BJP offices in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar triggered a security alert across Gujarat on Monday, prompting searches by police, bomb detection and disposal teams and dog squads, officials said.

The threat mentioned the BJP office in Ahmedabad’s Khanpur area, the party’s state office, Kamalam, at Koba in Gandhinagar, and the Somnath Temple.

Police said no suspicious object was found during searches at the locations.

Ahmedabad C-Division ACP Adwait Gandhi said the State Intelligence Bureau in Gandhinagar received the input around 9 a.m., following which the Khanpur BJP office was thoroughly checked, and additional police deployment was put in place.

“At 9 a.m., we received an input from the State Intelligence Bureau in Gandhinagar. According to that, there was a threat of a bomb blast at the BJP Central Office in Khanpur. We informed the BDTS and had the entire premises checked, and police deployment has also been put in place. The situation is normal,” Gandhi said.

He confirmed that the Somnath Temple and BJP office at Koba had also been named in the threat. “Nothing suspicious has been found. The situation is normal,” he said.

Gandhi said there was no need for panic and added that police are carrying out their duties. “I do not have information about the origin of the email at this stage and action had been taken on the basis of the intelligence input,” he noted.

At the Khanpur office, police, fire brigade personnel and bomb and dog squad teams conducted a detailed search.

City BJP president Prerak Shah said the party was informed that intelligence agencies had received an email threatening to blow up the office.

“Based on that, both the police and bomb squad arrived here. The entire Khanpur BJP office was searched, and nothing objectionable or suspicious was found here,” Shah said.

At Somnath, Deputy SP M.F. Chaudhary said the police received the threat email in the morning and the entire police force was placed on alert on the instructions and guidance of the Superintendent of Police.

He said the temple has dedicated security personnel working round the clock and that devotees normally undergo two-layer frisking and checking.

Electronic gadgets and other prohibited items are not allowed inside the temple premises.

“In view of today’s situation, we put our other district branches, including the LCB, Special Operation Group, BDS and QRT, on alert and had the entire temple premises searched. The BDS searched the temple premises but found no suspicious objects,” he said.

The latest threat comes amid a series of similar email-based bomb scares in Gujarat.

Earlier this month, threats were received by courts, schools and the Gujarat Assembly, while separate threats on September 15 and 17 reportedly named courts, Mahatma Mandir and port facilities.

Searches in those cases also did not result in the recovery of explosives.

Gujarat Police had also recently arrested two men in connection with an alleged interstate network involved in sending hoax bomb-threat emails.

Investigators recovered details of 513,847 Gmail accounts and passwords allegedly linked to the network.

Police are examining whether the latest threat has any connection with that network.