Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu take charge as Election Commissioners

Gyanesh Kumar is a retired IAS officer of Kerala cadre 1988 batch, while Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is a retired IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre 1988 batch who was earlier the chief secretary of Uttarakhand.

Retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar (right) and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu take charge as Election Commissioners on Friday. (Photo: PTI)

Less than 24 hours after they were selected by a panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu took charge as Election Commissioners on Friday morning.

The committee of the Prime Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met on Thursday afternoon to select two candidates for the vacant EC posts. By evening, President Droupadi Murmu appointed the two, issuing a notification under the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.

The two appointments became the first to be conducted as per the new Act.

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Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar welcomed the two ECs on Friday and “emphasised the significance of their joining at the historic point when ECI is all set to conduct General Election 2024 in the world’s largest democracy”, the ECI spokesperson said in a tweet.

Kumar, a retired IAS officer of Kerala cadre 1988 batch, retired as Cooperation Secretary on January 31. He had earlier served in the Ministry of Home Affairs during the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Sandhu, retired IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre 1988 batch, was earlier Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand and was appointed as Secretary to the Lokpal for a year-long contract starting on February 3 this year.

The two EC posts became vacant after former Election Commissioner C Anup Chandra Pandey retired in February and ex-EC Arun Goel resigned unexpectedly on March 9.

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