Gyanesh Kumar Takes Office as the New Chief Election Commissioner
Click to start listening
Synopsis
The Central government has appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner, succeeding Rajiv Kumar. Kumar, a senior IAS officer, will lead the Election Commission alongside newly appointed Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi.
Key Takeaways
- Gyanesh Kumar appointed as new CEC.
- Replaces outgoing Rajiv Kumar.
- Committee led by PM Modi made the appointment.
- Vivek Joshi also appointed as Election Commissioner.
- First appointment under the Chief Election Commissioner Act, 2023.
New Delhi, Feb 17 (NationPress) The Central government has officially declared the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Monday, taking over from Rajiv Kumar.
Gyanesh Kumar, an IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, belongs to the 1988 batch and is senior to the other two commissioners on the three-member panel previously led by Rajiv Kumar.
The remaining commissioners in the panel include Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre, and Vivek Joshi.
The government has also confirmed the appointment of Vivek Joshi as an Election Commissioner.
Vivek Joshi has previously served as the Registrar General of India as well as Census Commissioner.
On the same day, a selection committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, nominated by the Prime Minister, convened to select the successor for the outgoing Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, who is due to retire on February 18.
This appointment marks the first instance under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioner Act, 2023, which was implemented in December 2023.
S.S. Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar were named as Election Commissioners under this new provision in March 2024.
The appointments were made to fill positions left vacant due to the resignation of Arun Goel and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey.
In the meantime, Rajiv Kumar joined the ECI as Election Commissioner on September 1, 2020, later taking charge as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner of India on May 15, 2022.
His 4.5 years in the Commission were marked by significant yet understated reforms across diverse areas including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration.
During his term, Kumar successfully completed a full electoral cycle overseeing elections across 31 States/UTs, including the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections in 2022, the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, and Rajya Sabha renewals—a remarkable achievement in electoral management. The elections were conducted smoothly, with minimal repolls and violence.
