On Monday, the central government announced the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), succeeding Rajiv Kumar. Gyanesh Kumar, an IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, belongs to the 1988 batch and is senior to the two other commissioners on the three-member panel led by Rajiv Kumar.
The remaining commissioners on the panel are Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre, and Vivek Joshi. Vivek Joshi, previously the Registrar General of India and the Census Commissioner, was also appointed as Election Commissioner.
A three-member selection committee, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, convened on Monday to appoint the successor to Rajiv Kumar, whose tenure is set to end with his retirement on February 18. The committee included PM Modi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
This marks the first appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioner Act, 2023, which came into effect in December 2023. Under this new provision, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were appointed as Election Commissioners in March 2024 to fill vacancies left by Arun Goel’s resignation and Anup Chandra Pandey’s retirement.
Rajiv Kumar joined the Election Commission of India (ECI) as Election Commissioner on September 1, 2020, and became the 25th Chief Election Commissioner on May 15, 2022. His 4.5-year tenure in the Commission was marked by substantial yet quiet reforms across multiple areas, including structural changes, technological advancements, capacity development, communication improvements, international cooperation, and administrative efficiency.
During his leadership, the Election Commission successfully completed a full electoral cycle, overseeing elections across 31 states and union territories, the 2022 Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and Rajya Sabha renewals. The elections were notable for being conducted smoothly, with minimal disruptions, few repolls, and very few instances of violence.
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