Gyanesh Kumar appointed India’s 26th Chief Election Commissioner
Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was appointed India’s 26th Chief Election Commissioner on Monday night, the Law Ministry said.
His term will run till January 26, 2029, days before the Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule for the next Lok Sabha election.
Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch Haryana-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has been appointed Election Commissioner. Joshi is currently posted as Chief Secretary in Haryana.
During his tenure as the 26th CEC, Gyanesh Kumar will oversee the Bihar Assembly polls later this year, and the Kerala and Puducherry Assembly polls in 2026.
Similarly, he will oversee the Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which are also due in 2026.
Kumar, who played a key role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir during his stint in the Union Home Ministry, took charge as an Election Commissioner on March 15, 2024.
A 1988-batch IAs officer from the Kerala cadre, Kumar is the senior-most Election Commissioner, the other being S.S. Sandhu, who was also appointed in March 2024.
Importantly, Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law on the appointment of the members of the Election Commission (EC).
The new CEC and Other Election Commissioners Bill, 2023, came into force in December 2023 and is currently facing a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.
"The President is pleased to appoint Dr Vivek Joshi, IAS (HY:1989) as Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India, with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office."
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to hear petitions that have challenged the CEC and Other Election Commissioners Bill, 2023, on grounds that the Selection Committee is biased in the Executive’s favour with the three members comprising the Prime Minister, a Union Minister named by the government and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The Supreme Court had on March 2, 2023, passed a judgment saying it was important for a level-playing field that the committee to select the CEC and Election Commissioners should have the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of Opposition.
