Gyanesh Kumar, who was named as an Election Commissioner last year, has been appointed the next Chief Election Commissioner of India, replacing the outgoing Rajiv Kumar. Mr Kumar will oversee the conduct of the Bihar Assembly election later this year and the polls in Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu next year. He took charge as the new poll chief this morning.

Mr Kumar’s appointment came in a late-night development on Monday, within hours after a meeting of a three-member panel consisting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi. However, it has sparked a row as Mr Gandhi did not approve of the appointment.

New Delhi:

Gyanesh Kumar, who was named as an Election Commissioner last year, has been appointed the next Chief Election Commissioner of India, replacing the outgoing Rajiv Kumar. Mr Kumar will oversee the conduct of the Bihar Assembly election later this year and the polls in Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu next year. He took charge as the new poll chief this morning.

Mr Kumar’s appointment came in a late-night development on Monday, within hours after a meeting of a three-member panel consisting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi. However, it has sparked a row as Mr Gandhi did not approve of the appointment.

Row on Gyanesh Kumar’s appointment explained

The appointment of Mr Kumar as the poll chief was done based on the Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners (ECs) under the 2023 law. According to these rules, the Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners will be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of PM Modi as the Chairperson, a cabinet minister nominated by the PM – Amit Shah, and the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha.

However, the law was challenged in the Supreme Court as the three-member panel allowed the Centre a dominant role.

The top court was set to take up a hearing on a “priority basis” on February 19.

Due to this, Mr Gandhi, who was present in the meeting, had opposed Mr Kumar’s appointment and asked the government to postpone it. However, the Centre planned to press on regardless, saying that halting the process would mean leaving the key post vacant.

After Mr Kumar’s appointment, the Congress leader gave a dissent note saying the meeting was meaningless as the new law has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

“During the meeting of the committee to select the next (Chief) Election Commissioner, I presented a dissent note to the PM and HM that stated: ‘The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission… free from executive interference… is the process of choosing the Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner. By violating the Supreme Court order and removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee, the Modi government has exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process,” Mr Gandhi wrote in a post on X.

He added, “As the LoP, it is my duty to uphold the ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the founding leaders of our nation and hold the government to account. It is both disrespectful and discourteous for the PM and HM to have made a midnight decision to select the new CEC, when the very composition of the committee and the process is being challenged in the Supreme Court and is due to be heard in less than forty-eight hours.”

Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale also took a dig at the Centre, calling Mr Shah “India’s new Chief Election Commissioner”.

“Congratulations to Sh Amit Shah on becoming India’s new Chief Election Commissioner. The nation is confident that under your able leadership, the goal of reducing ECI to a wing of BJP will be successfully achieved,” he said, adding that the BJP would not succeed in West Bengal despite the appointment.

Who is Gyanesh Kumar

Mr Kumar is a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre. He is the senior of the two commissioners on the three-member panel that was led by Rajiv Kumar till he demitted office. The other commissioner on the panel is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre.

The new Chief Election Commissioner was a part of the Union Home Ministry earlier and had helped draft the bill that scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and split the former state into two union territories.

He has also served as the Joint Secretary (Kashmir Division) and the Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry.

New Delhi:

Gyanesh Kumar assumed charge Wednesday morning as the new Chief Election Commissioner.

Mr Kumar replaces Rajiv Kumar in the role and will oversee the conduct of nearly two-dozen elections, state and presidential, over the course of his four-year term. The new CEC is an ex-IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, and earlier served in the Home Ministry, under current Home Minister Amit Shah. Among his key responsibilities were the drafting of a bill that scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

In his first remarks after taking charge, Mr Kumar said, “The first step for nation-building is voting. Therefore, every citizen of India who has completed 18 years of age should become an elector and should always vote. The Election Commission was, is, and will always be with the voters.”

Mr Kumar’s appointment – the notification was issued late last night – was made amid controversy after Rahul Gandhi and the Congress objected to his nomination.

Mr Gandhi is part of a three-member panel that was tasked with picking the new CEC, but the Congress leader submitted a dissent note instead, objecting to Gyanesh Kumar’s nomination despite a challenge – to the constitution of the panel – that is pending in the Supreme Court.

READ | Gyanesh Kumar Appointed New Chief Election Commissioner

The top court will hear those arguments later today.

In essence, the contention is the committee – which at present consists of the Prime Minister, a member of the union cabinet (to be nominated by the PM), and the Leader of the Opposition – is biased towards the ruling party, and impinges on the Election Commission’s neutrality.

NDTV Explains | Why Gyanesh Kumar’s Pick As Poll Chief Sparked Row

On Tuesday Mr Gandhi posted a sharp attack on X, in which he slammed the centre’s “midnight decision” to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the next CEC, calling his nomination a ‘violation of the Supreme Court order (by) removing the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee”.

READ | “Midnight Decision Disrespectful”: Rahul Gandhi Note On Poll Chief Selection

“During the meeting of the committee to select the next (Chief) Election Commissioner, I presented a dissent note to the PM and HM that stated: ‘The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission… free from executive interference… is the process of choosing the Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner,” Mr Gandhi had said.

During the meeting of the committee to select the next Election Commissioner, I presented a dissent note to the PM and HM, that stated: The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission free from executive interference is the process of choosing the Election… pic.twitter.com/JeL9WSfq3X

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 18, 2025

“By violating the Supreme Court order and removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee, the Modi government has exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process,” Mr Gandhi said on X.

READ | All About Gyanesh Kumar, New Chief Election Commissioner

The reference was to an earlier order by the Supreme Court that said the PM, the LoP and the Chief Justice of India should be on the selection committee. To circumvent that ruling the central government later rushed through a bill to replace the Chief Justice.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has announced that Dr Vivek Joshi took office this morning as the new third member of the panel. Dr Joshi is a 1989-batch IAS officer from the Haryana cadre.

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New Delhi:

Gyanesh Kumar – appointed as an Election Commissioner in March last year – is likely to become the next Chief Election Commissioner of India, replacing the outgoing Rajiv Kumar sources told NDTV Monday evening. If his appointment is confirmed, Mr Kumar will oversee conduct of the Bihar Assembly election later this year and the polls in Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu next year.

Mr Kumar, a 1988-batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre, is the senior of the two commissioners on the three-member panel that was led by Rajiv Kumar till he demitted office this morning. The other commissioner on the panel is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre.

Mr Kumar’s nomination, though, has not yet been ratified.

The opposition Congress – represented on the selection panel by Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha – has objected to what it has said is a rush to name the new CEC.

READ | “Can’t Operate In Ego”: Congress On New Poll Body Chief Selection

The party has pointed out the Supreme Court will this week hear a challenge to the 2023 law governing selection of the CEC, which critics say gives the ruling BJP control of the process; under that law a three-member panel – the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, and the LoP will decide.

Who Is Gyanesh Kumar?

Mr Kumar, 61, was earlier part of the Union Home Ministry.

Among his key responsibilities was helping to the draft the bill that scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and split the former state into two union territories.

He was then Joint Secretary (Kashmir Division) in the Home Ministry.

A year later, as Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry, Mr Kumar also handled documents relating to the Supreme Court case about the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

Sources said Mr Kumar is known to be close to Home Minister Amit Shah; he retired from the civil service in January last year as Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation, which is also led by Mr Shah.

Prior to that he also served as Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. And, in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, he was posted to the Defence Ministry.

Mr Kumar holds a B.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering in Kanpur, and has also studied Business Finance from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India. Additionally, he has also studied Environmental Economics from Harvard University.

Rajiv Kumar Retires

Exiting CEC Rajiv Kumar stepped down this morning.

In his farewell speech Mr Kumar touched on a number of issues, including remote voting mechanisms for NRIs and migrant workers, biometric authentication to cast votes, and non-disclosure of votes (to guard against post-poll violence) received by each candidate at any given polling station.

READ | Remote Voting For NRIs, AI, Biometrics: Outgoing Chief’s Wishlist

Mr Kumar also underlined the need for “financial transparency” in managing poll expenses and campaign promises and action against “fake narratives” spread via social media. He also spoke about Artificial Intelligence, or AI, which he declared could “revolutionise (the) conduct of elections”.

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New Delhi:

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday revealed his intention to “detoxify” himself and spend several months in solitude in the Himalayas post his retirement next month.

Responding to a question while addressing a presser to announce the Delhi Assembly elections, he shared his post-retirement plans with an introspective touch.

“I will detoxify myself for the next four-five months, go to the deep Himalayas, be away from the glare of all of you. I need some ‘ekant’ (solitude) and ‘swadhyay’ (self-study),” Mr Kumar, who is set to retire on February 18, said.

In October last year, Mr Kumar was rescued from the remote Ralam village in Uttarkhand’s Pithoragarh district following an emergency helicopter landing due to inclement weather and left stranded at over 12,000 feet.

Mr Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer from the Bihar/Jharkhand cadre, also shared a personal aspiration to give back to society by teaching underprivileged children.

He recounted his humble beginnings, studying in a municipal school where classes were held under a tree.

“I started learning ABCD in the 6th class. We carried a slate and sat under a tree to study. As a passion, I want to go back to those roots and teach such children,” he said.

Known for incorporating poetry into his addresses, Mr Kumar used evocative couplets to underscore his messages.

Addressing some parties’ tendency to question the Election Commission’s integrity, he recited: “Aarop aur ilzamat ka daur chale koi gila nahi; jhooth ke gubbaron ko bulandi mile, koi shikwa nahi; har parinam me praman dete hain par wo bina saboot shaq ki nai duniya raunak karte hain.” This poetic plea was a call to eschew baseless accusations and appreciate the transparent work of the Election Commission.

During the announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, CEC Kumar had quipped, “It is not proper to blame the EC for unfulfilled desires when one has not done their job properly.” Mr Kumar took over as the 25th CEC on May 15, 2022, after serving as Election Commissioner since September 2020. During his tenure, he oversaw landmark elections, including the 16th Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections in 2022 and assembly elections in 11 states.

Before his appointment as CEC, Mr Kumar held several key positions, including finance secretary and chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board. As finance secretary, he spearheaded significant reforms, such as bank mergers, recapitalization of public sector banks, and the crackdown on shell companies.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A helicopter with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and additional Chief Election Officer of Uttarakhand Vijay Kumar Jogdande on board made an emergency landing in the state’s Pithoragarh district today. All passengers of the helicopter are safe, reported news agency ANI quoting the Uttarakhand Government.

On Tuesday, Mr Kumar announced bypoll to the Kedarnath assembly seat in Uttarakhand. The Kedarnath seat, located in Rudraprayag district, is part of the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency, currently held by the BJP.

The seat fell vacant following the death of MLA Shaila Rawat in July. Rawat won the seat on a BJP ticket in the 2022 assembly polls. She had represented the seat in 2012 also as a Congress MLA. She lost in 2017 but regained it in 2022.

Mr Jogdande said the notification for the bypoll will be issued on October 22, with October 29 as the last date for filing nominations. Counting will be held on November 23, he said.

The Election Commissioners yesterday announced the bypolls to 47 assembly seats and Wayanad Lok Sabha seats will be held on November 13. Bypolls for the Kedarnath assembly seat and Nanded Lok Sabha seat will be held on November 20.

The Election Commission also announced the election dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Maharashtra will vote in one phase on November 20 while Jharkhand will go to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20. The counting of votes for both states will be on November 23.

In Jammu and Kashmir to take stock of preparations for elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has said that no internal or external force can stop the Election Commission from conducting Assembly polls in the Union Territory. 

Addressing a press conference in Jammu on Friday, Mr Kumar said in Hindi, “The foundation laid by you (the people and the administration) is now awaiting the construction of a strong building. We have to achieve new heights and the time for that has come. If any internal or external force thinks that they can interfere and derail the Assembly elections, they are wrong. We are sure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will give a befitting response to disruptive forces.”

To a question on how the elections were being planned given that the Union Territory has seen an uptick in terror attacks and encounters in which many security personnel have also been killed, the Chief Election Commissioner used the chicken-and-egg analogy.

“We are working with full commitment and resolve that nothing will be allowed to disrupt the elections. If we don’t, it will become a chicken-and-egg situation. Whenever we will talk about elections, such activities will increase and we will be forced to step back. That will be like conceding defeat without even fighting. That won’t happen,” Mr Kumar asserted.

“These things will not have an impact on the elections at all. Our forces and the administration are capable enough to deal with any situation that arises. The flag of ‘jamhuriyat’ (democracy) has been raised and will be raised further,” he added.

‘Historic Achievement’

On the Commission’s meetings with political parties in Jammu and Kashmir since it arrived in the Union Territory on Thursday, Mr Kumar said they had spoken to national and recognised parties, all of whom had praised the people and the Election Commission for the way the Lok Sabha elections had been conducted there. 

The state had seen a voter turnout of 58.46%, which was the highest in 35 years, and Mr Kumar said all the parties had called that a “historic achievement”. 

“The parties said it had good participation and no violent incidents took place, which boosted people’s confidence. All the parties demanded that the Assembly polls be held at the earliest so that there are elected representatives in Jammu and Kashmir who have a better connect with local residents,” Mr Kumar said. 

Jammu and Kashmir has been without an elected government for over six years and the last Assembly elections were held there in December 2014. The Supreme Court has set a deadline of  September 30 for the Election Commission to hold Assembly polls in the erstwhile state, whose special status under Article 370 was removed and it was bifurcated into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party on June 23 reiterated its demand for Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja’s immediate resignation for failing to hold “free and fair” elections and protested against the “injustices” being committed against the party, according to media reports.

“Leaders of 71-year-old Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, along with other National Assembly members, led a protest rally from the Parliament to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the Constitution Avenue in Islamabad,” The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Led by Leader of Opposition and party leader Omar Ayub, the protesters demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja and election commission members for alleged poll rigging.

The controversial February 8 general elections in Pakistan were marred with massive rigging allegations. During the rally, Mr. Ayub called for the immediate resignation of CEC Raja and other members of the ECP, alleging that the only job of the Election Commission was to conduct clean and transparent polls, but it failed to fulfil its constitutional duty, The News International newspaper reported.

“The protesters were stopped from reaching the electoral body’s central office, as large contingents of security personnel were deployed outside the ECP building,” the report said. Slogans were also chanted for the release of party founder and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.

Mr. Khan has been incarcerated in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since September last year. He was shifted to this prison from the District Jail Attock, where he had been lodged after his arrest on August 5, 2023, following his conviction in the Toshakhana case.

Addressing the rally, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said, “The doors of courts have been closed on Opposition leaders; our women are in jail, and history will remember them.” He said that it was a matter of regret that all the Parliamentarians were coming out on the streets and protesting for the release of PTI founder Khan,” the report said.

“Today, we have come out against this injustice. Our voice is not being heard in this House (Parliament). Whatever we said in the House, our voice was silenced. We want the women’s release. This is a clear violation of human rights,” he said.

Addressing the protesters, the party’s central leader, Asad Qaiser, said, “On May 9, we were targeted on the pretext that we are not negotiating with anyone. Our voice is not heard in Parliament, which amounts to our gross abuse.”

After the controversial general elections, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party formed a coalition government after intense negotiations following a fractured poll verdict. Independent candidates – a majority backed by the PTI party – won 93 of the 265 National Assembly seats contested in the February 8 election.

Chennai:

The voters have a right to know about the feasibility of fulfilling poll assurances made by political parties, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday and made it clear that the matter is, however, sub judice.

Political parties have a right to make promises in their election manifestos and the electorate has a right to know if these are genuine and how these programmes could be funded, he said, adding the entire matter forms part of an ongoing case and the matter was sub judice.

At a press conference here, Rajiv Kumar, answering questions, said the Election Commission has prepared a ‘proforma’ to make parties to make a disclosure on their election promises. However, this aspect also relates to the pending court matter.

He said enforcement agencies have been directed to stay vigilant and prevent distribution of cash and freebies. National Payments Corporation of India too has been tasked to monitor online transactions.

To a question on ‘fake news,’ he said, “Today fake news is running as you mentioned that election dates have been announced. This fake news has, however, been countered within half an hour and it was made amply clear that it was fake.”

After holding meetings with political parties during the last two days, Rajiv Kumar said “A majority of parties said that many parties have commenced parking of funds for distribution to voters.”

“We met various political parties – both national like the BJP, INC and state parties like the AIADMK, DMK. A majority of their demands were single-phase elections, curb on distribution of money and freebies,” he said.

The parties also sought action to prevent ‘voter impersonation,’ distribution of liquor and transfer of money through online mode.

During past elections in Tamil Nadu, parties have often accused each other of ‘inducing’ voters by distributing cash and gifts.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)