Lok Sabha 2024: Today, Friday, marks the first day in office for the newly-appointed Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. Their appointments were made by a selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
The Election Commission recently faced two vacancies following the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and the unexpected resignation of Arun Goel, just days before the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
“CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar welcomed the two newly-appointed Election Commissioners, Shri Gyanesh Kumar & Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, as they officially joined the Commission today,” Spokesperson ECI announced on X (formerly Twitter).
CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar welcomed the two newly-appointed Election Commissioners, Shri Gyanesh Kumar & Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu who joined the Commission today
— Spokesperson ECI (@SpokespersonECI) March 15, 2024
#ECI #ChunavKaParv pic.twitter.com/9cHMWF0UOo
“CEC emphasized the significance of their joining at this historic juncture as ECI prepares to conduct #GeneralElection2024 in the world’s largest democracy. Team ECI is geared up for action-packed weeks ahead!” it added.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule for the April-May Lok Sabha polls in the coming days. The new commissioners will assume their roles to assist the poll body in conducting these elections. The appointments come just ahead of the Supreme Court’s scheduled hearing of petitions challenging the selection process.
According to the current procedure, a search committee led by the Union Law Minister compiles a shortlist. Subsequently, a selection panel chaired by the Prime Minister and including the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Union Minister finalizes the appointees.
In March last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the PM-led panel must also include the Chief Justice of India as a member. However, later, the Union government introduced a law to replace the Chief Justice with a Union Minister.
The newly appointed Election Commissioners are:
- Gyanesh Kumar: A 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, aged 60. Kumar has previously worked with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He retired as Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, which falls under Amit Shah’s purview, on January 31, 2024. Prior to this, he served as Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu: Also a 1998 batch IAS officer, but from the Uttarakhand cadre. Sandhu has served as the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand during Pushkar Singh Dhami’s tenure as Chief Minister in 2021.