Polls to 7 Karnataka Legislative Council seats on June 29
New Delhi: Elections to seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council will be held on June 29, the poll panel announced on Tuesday.
The seven seats are falling vacant on June 30, according to an Election Commission statement. Members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will vote on June 29 to elect the seven new MLCs.
The Commission has directed the Karnataka chief secretary to depute a senior officer to ensure that the instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with during the elections.
The counting of votes will be held on the evening of June 29 after completion of polls, as per practice. The notification for the elections will be issued on June 11, the statement said.
MLCs are usually elected by four types of electors -- MLAs, Graduates, Teachers and members of local authorities.
On Monday, the Commission had deferred elections to four seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council -- two each from Teachers and Graduate constituencies -- falling vacant on June 30 due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
"If MLAs are electors, the size of the electorate is small and the assembly building is the only polling station. When the electorate is teachers or graduates, the number of those who can vote is higher. Due to the virus, Commission only allowed polls to seats where MLAs are the electors to prevent large gatherings," explained a senior EC functionary.
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Body of UP man killed in Riyadh missile attack brought to native village
Sitapur (UP) (PTI): The mortal remains of a 26-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh, who was killed in a suspected missile attack in Riyadh earlier this month, was brought to his native village in Sitapur on Wednesday, his family members said.
Ravi Gopal, a resident of Baghain village under Mahmudabad police station limits, had been working as a driver in a plastic factory in the Saudi capital since September 2025. He was killed on the night of March 18 in what his family described as a missile strike near his workplace.
His elder brother, Manmohan Dayal, told PTI that the mortal remains were handed over to him in Lucknow on Wednesday morning with the help of the administration.
"The body was received around 9.30 am. We are now taking it to our village in an ambulance and expect to reach by noon," he said earlier this morning.
"The cremation will be held today and preparations are already underway in the village," he said.
Dayal said Rakesh Kumar, Naib Tehsildar from Mahmudabad, has been deputed to facilitate the process and was accompanying the convoy.
He added that the family had been informed earlier by embassy officials and the local administration that the body would be flown from Riyadh to Lucknow, arriving on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, the family had claimed that Ravi died after being buried under debris following a missile strike near the factory where he worked. He was later taken to a hospital where doctors declared him dead.
The Ministry of External Affairs had said it received information on March 18 regarding the "tragic demise of an Indian national" in Riyadh and expressed condolences to the bereaved family. The Indian Mission in Riyadh coordinated with local authorities to facilitate the repatriation of the body.
Ravi, the sole breadwinner of his family, is survived by his wife and a four-year-old son. The family has sought compensation and assistance from the administration.
Officials said the district administration remained in touch with the family to ensure smooth completion of formalities.
