Panel Led by PM Modi Convenes to Choose New CEC

New Delhi, Feb 17 (NationPress) A three-member selection committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened on Monday to select the successor to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, who is scheduled to retire on February 18 (Tuesday).

The meeting took place at the Prime Minister's Office located in South Block.

Alongside PM Modi, the committee included Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

This marks the inaugural appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioner Act, 2023, which was enacted in December 2023. In March 2024, S.S. Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar were designated as Election Commissioners under this new framework.

The recent appointments addressed vacancies left by the resignation of Arun Goel and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey.

Previously, the senior-most among the remaining Election Commissioners was usually promoted to the position following discussions with the outgoing CEC. However, the new selection process mandates that appointments be made based on a majority or consensus among the committee members.

Numerous PILs regarding the appointment process, particularly the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel, are currently awaiting a hearing from the Supreme Court.

The apex court has scheduled to hear these cases on February 19.

It will be intriguing to observe whether the three-member selection panel chooses a new CEC or promotes one of the current Election Commissioners to the role.

If they opt for the first choice, the new CEC will oversee the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, given the six-year tenure. The new CEC will also manage the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections this year, along with polls in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry in 2026, and Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh in 2027.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has urged the Central Government to postpone the selection meeting for the new CEC until the Supreme Court's hearing on February 19.

Congress leader Ajay Maken stated, "Today, a meeting regarding the election of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) was convened. The Congress party believes that since the Supreme Court indicated it would hear the matter on February 19 and render a decision on the committee's composition, today's meeting should have been deferred..."

The party also claimed that by excluding the Chief Justice of India from the CEC selection panel, the central government signified its intent to prioritize control over the credibility of the election body.