Gyanesh new CEC, Haryana CS Joshi his deputy

Gyanesh Kumar, who was appointed as an Election Commissioner in March 2024, will succeed Rajiv Kumar as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). Rajiv Kumar is set to demit office on Tuesday.

Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch Haryana-cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as Election Commissioner in place of Gyanesh Kumar. The appointments were cleared by the selection committee for the CEC and ECs, led by PM Narendra Modi and comprising Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The committee recommended the names of the next CEC and EC to President Droupadi Murmu for final appointment. An official notification from the Law Ministry came late on Monday.

A 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, the 61-year-old Gyanesh Kumar is the senior-most among the two Election Commissioners, the other being SS Sandhu, who was also appointed in March 2024. Kumar previously served as Joint Secretary in the Kashmir Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). He was involved in preparing documentation for the abrogation of Article 370 and criminalisation of triple talaq and is considered close to Shah.

Kumar will be the first CEC appointed under the new CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which came into force in December 2023. Earlier Gyanesh and Sandhu were appointed ECs under this same Act. Joshi had taken over as Haryana Chief Secretary in November last year. His brother, Vineet Joshi, is Secretary, Higher Education, who previously served as Manipur Chief Secretary.

The law on CEC and ECs appointments is currently facing a legal challenge in the Supreme Court, with hearing scheduled for February 19.

Rahul, who attended the selection committee meet, reportedly urged for the meeting to be postponed by two to three weeks to allow the SC to hear the case. The Act has been challenged on the grounds that the committee is biased in favour of the executive, with three members comprising the PM and a Union Minister named by the government, and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The Congress has criticised the government for not delaying the meeting until the SC’s verdict. Senior leader Abhishek Singhvi said the party wanted the Centre to file an early hearing and disposal application in the case.

The SC, in its March 2, 2023, verdict, had emphasised the importance of a level-playing field in the appointment process, saying the selection committee for the CEC and ECs should include the PM, CJI, and the Leader of Opposition.