Send me dossier on names shortlisted for ECs: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to Govt

As leader of the largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is also a member of the Prime Minister-led panels which select the CIC and the CVC.

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Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. (Express Archives)

With the Prime Minister-led selection committee set to meet Thursday to pick two Election Commissioners, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Opposition member in the three-member panel, has written to the government, seeking the “dossier” containing the “bio-profiles” of the shortlisted persons “well before” the meeting.

In a letter to Rajiv Mani, Secretary, Legislative Department and Department of Legal Affairs, Union Ministry of Law and Justice, Chowdhury is learnt to have referred to the process followed by the government regarding the selection of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners and Chief Vigilance Commissioner and Vigilance Commissioners and asked the government to follow the same procedure.

Explained | The new process for picking Election Commissioners, why it was brought in

As leader of the largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha, Chowdhury is also a member of the Prime Minister-led panels which select the CIC and the CVC.

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“It will be essential to have the bio-profiles of the persons shortlisted by the Search Committee well beforehand … the Meeting of the Selection Committee. This will enable in taking a reasoned decision in the matter. I would, therefore, request that the ‘Dossier’ containing the bio-profiles of the shortlisted persons to be considered for appointment be made available to the Members well before the Meeting,” he wrote.

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The committee comprises the Prime Minister, a Union Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and Leader of the Opposition or the single largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha, in this case, Chowdhury.

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The panel is set to meet Thursday to select two Election Commissioners to fill the vacancies created by the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and the surprise resignation of Arun Goel last Saturday.

According to sources, the two new ECs are likely to enter office soon, joining Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in conducting the Lok Sabha elections.

The RJD’s key face and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, party supremo Lalu Yadav’s son, will again contest from his stronghold Raghopur.

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The RJD, lead player of the Mahagathbandhan, released its full list of 143 candidates for the November Bihar Assembly elections. Its key face Tejashwi Yadav will contest from Raghopur, and 41 sitting MLAs have been renominated. The party has dropped 36 sitting MLAs and fielded young leaders, signaling a bid to consolidate its core Muslim-Yadav vote base. The Congress has fielded 60 candidates.

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