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Amid allegations of autocratic decision-making within the Election Commission against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, retired Administrative Service (IAS) officer and former Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson has claimed in an interview with OnManorama that Gyanesh Kumar had previously persuaded him to contest a BJP election candidacy. The alleged offer was made in 2016, when Gyanesh Kumar was in service.
Jiji Thomson stated that the conversation took place in 2016 on a flight to Delhi while he was still serving as Kerala’s Chief Secretary. He also clarified that he had declined the offer.
Jiji Thomson is a retired 1980-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre who served as the Chief Secretary of Kerala in 2015-16 in the Oommen Chandy-led Congress government.
“We had a good friendship. He asked me what my plan was after retirement, and I said, I don’t have much. Then, he advised that the best option was to contest the 2019 election as a BJP candidate and become an MP and a cabinet Minister,” Jiji Thomson told Asianet News.
He told OnManorama that Gyanesh Kumar was very persuasive. “I declined it promptly,” he said.
Jiji Thomson also said that Gyanesh Kumar was highly vocal and open about his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's growing popularity in Kerala. He said that, even after he declined the BJP seat, Gyanesh further tried to persuade him to enter politics.
This revelation comes amid Gyanesh Kumar facing severe political scrutiny following The Indian Express’s investigation report. The IE report said that two fellow Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, formally recorded objections 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions made during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The investigative report by IE spurred the opposition, led by the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, to demand Gyanesh’s resignation. On September 25, nationwide protests occurred in many places as opposition parties and youth groups demanded the immediate resignation and arrest of Gyanesh Kumar.
Gyanesh Kumar is a retired 1988-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre and currently serves as the 26th CEC of India. He took charge on February 19, 2025, succeeding Rajiv Kumar.
