Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said that the by-elections to the six vacant Rajya Sabha (RS) seats in Gujarat, Bihar and Odisha will take place on July 5 and the counting of votes will take place on the same day.

"The entire process will have to be completed till July 9," EC added.

It may be noted here that out of the six seats, two seats are vacant in Gujarat, one in Bihar and three in Odisha.

BJP leaders Smriti Irani and Amit Shah's election to the Lok Sabha have left two seats vacant from Gujarat.

Moreover, BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was also a Rajya Sabha member, won the polls from Bihar's Patna Sahib and owing to this by-election in the state has become necessary.

In Odisha BJD leaders Achutananda Samanta and Pratap Keshari Deb were elected to the state assembly and another leader Soumya Ranjan Patnaik resigned earlier this month, which has necessitated the need for the by-elections.

Speculations are strong that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. The former foreign secretary, who was sworn in as a union minister, would have to be elected from either house of parliament within six months of his appointment to keep his post.

It is also speculated that Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Paswan may also get a Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat.