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Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu take charge as Election Commissioners today
Newly-appointed Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu to assume office today after being selected by PM Narendra Modi on Thursday.
The newly-appointed Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu took charge of the office today, Friday. They were appointed election commissioners by the selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
The two vacancies were created in the Election Commission after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and the surprise resignation of Arun Goel recently, days ahead of Lok Sabha polls 2024.
“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 wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“CEC emphasized the significance of their joining at the historic point when ECI is all set to conduct #General Election2024 in the world's largest democracy. Team ECI is set for action-packed weeks ahead !” it added.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule for the April- May Lok Sabha polls in one of these days. The new commissioners will join their offices to help the poll body conduct these polls. The two appointments come a day before the Supreme Court is slated to hear petitions challenging the selection process.
A search committee led by the Union Law Minister prepares a shortlist, as per the current procedure. Thereafter, a selection panel led by the Prime Minister and comprising the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Union Minister picks the final appointees.
In March last year, the top court ruled that the PM-led panel must also have the Chief Justice of India as a member. But later, the Union government brought a law to replace the Chief Justice with a Union Minister.
Who are the new Election Commissioners?
Gyanesh Kumar is a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre. Kumar, 60, has worked with Union Home Minister Amit Shah before. He retired as secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, which comes under Amit Shah, on January 31, 2024. Before that, he also served as the secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is also 1998 batch IAS officer but from Uttarakhand cadre. Sandhu has served as the chief secretary of Uttarakhand when Pushkar Singh Dhami became the Chief Minister in 2021.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaGyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu take charge as Election Commissioners today
First Published:15 Mar 2024, 08:22 AM IST
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