The Union government, on Monday, February 17, announced the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will be replacing Rajiv Kumar who is set to retire on February 18. Additionally, Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi was appointed as the Election Commissioner.
The selection committee, comprising Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, finalised the appointments. However, Rahul Gandhi expressed his dissent stating that the government should defer the appointment until the Supreme Court decides on the petitions challenging the new appointment process. The Supreme Court is set to hear the case on February 19.
Usually, the senior-most Election Commissioner (EC) will be elevated as the CEC. However, in 2023, a new law came into force regarding the appointment of the CEC and ECs, under which a committee shortlists five names from among secretary-level officers for consideration. This is then finalised by a committee under the Prime Minister. This law has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, is senior to the other two commissioners on the three-member Election Commission panel. He previously held key administrative roles at the Centre and state levels. The other commissioner, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, hails from the Uttarakhand cadre. Vivek Joshi, the newly appointed Election Commissioner, is the former Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner.
This is the first appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioner Act, 2023 which came into force in December 2023. SS Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar were appointed as Election Commissioners under this provision in March 2024. The two commissioners were appointed to fill vacancies created following the resignation of Arun Goel and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey.
(With IANS inputs)