Guwahati: Gyanesh Kumar, the Senior Election Commissioner, will take over as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India on Wednesday.
This appointment coincides with the Supreme Court’s scheduled hearing of a petition challenging the law under which his selection was made by a panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Kumar, a Kerala cadre officer from the 1988 batch of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), retired as Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation on January 31, 2024.
Throughout his career, Kumar played a significant role in various key projects, including facilitating the creation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust during his time at the Union Home Ministry.
In 2019, he led the Jammu and Kashmir Division, overseeing the revocation of Article 370. He also served as the Secretary of Parliamentary Affairs.
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Kumar was appointed as an Election Commissioner in March 2024, and his tenure as CEC will run until January 2029.
He is the first CEC to be appointed under the new “Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023,” which was established after the Supreme Court’s March 2023 ruling.
This law requires the formation of a selection panel, comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India, to oversee the CEC’s appointment.
The government replaced the Chief Justice with a Union Minister in the selection panel, giving the Centre greater influence in the appointment process.
The appointment came hours after Congress urged the government to delay the decision until the Supreme Court concludes its hearing on the petition challenging the law’s composition.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, who was part of the selection panel, issued a dissent note.
The Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging the law on Wednesday.
During Kumar’s tenure, he will oversee the critical Bihar Assembly elections later this year.
In 2026, he will manage elections in Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, and in 2027, he will supervise the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections.
Rajiv Kumar, the outgoing CEC who supervised the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, demitted office on Tuesday.
His tenure was marred by repeated allegations of bias from opposition parties. In his farewell speech, he remarked on the timing of certain narratives in the media, suggesting that their coverage during critical election periods could fuel distrust and disrupt the electoral process.