Gyanesh Kumar Appointed As Chief Election Commissioner Of India

New Members on the Election Commission

Gyanesh Kumar and Vivek Joshi have been named the new chiefs of the Election Commission of India. The government released two different gazette notifications on Monday evening naming them. The exercise was carried out by a three-member panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The panel cleared the names for the post of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioner (EC).

Selection Process and Approval

The appointment panel includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The suggestions were forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu, who approved the appointments. The appointments were announced soon after.

These are the first appointments of election commissioners under the new law that was passed in 2023. The committee met in the Delhi Prime Minister's Office on Monday evening, when the tenure of outgoing CEC Rajiv Kumar expired on Tuesday. As per convention, the senior-most election commissioner gets elevated to the CEC post. Following convention, Gyanesh Kumar, who is senior to Rajiv Kumar, has been given the job. Vivek Joshi will fill the new vacancy as the Election Commissioner. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu remains another Election Commissioner.

Gyanesh Kumar's Background and Tenure

Gyanesh Kumar, a 61-year-old Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1988 batch from the Kerala cadre, was voted to be Election Commissioner in March 2023. He was also among the co-authors of the 2019 bill leading to the abrogation of Article 370 as Joint Secretary (Kashmir Division) in the Union Home Ministry.

Before this new posting, he had retired as the Secretary of the Cooperation Department in January 2024. He had been made Election Commissioner because he enjoyed a good relationship with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Gyanesh Kumar will be CEC until January 26, 2029. The next assembly elections in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry will take place during his tenure.

Supreme Court Review of the New Appointments Process

The Supreme Court will consider a petition against the appointment of the CEC based on the 2023 law on February 19. For this purpose, Rahul Gandhi, a member of the selection panel, has suggested delaying the appointment decision until the Supreme Court hands down its ruling.