New Delhi, 18 February (HS): Gyanesh Kumar will be the new Chief Election Commissioner of the country. He will replace Rajiv Kumar. The Law Ministry has issued a notification in this regard.

Gyanesh Kumar, who was nominated as Election Commissioner in March last year, will be the next Chief Election Commissioner of the country. He will oversee the Bihar Assembly elections later this year and the elections in Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu next year. Along with this, the elections of President and Vice President in 2027 will be held during the tenure of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, is the senior of the two commissioners in the three-member panel.

Earlier on Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting held in North Block under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider the name of the Chief Election Commissioner. Under the old system, the most senior Election Commissioner in the three-member Election Commission has been made the Chief Election Commissioner. However, under the law related to the appointment of Election Commissioners, now the new Chief Election Commissioner is selected through a committee. Under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Terms of Service and Conditions of Office) Act, 2023, the new Chief Election Commissioner can also be the Election Commissioner currently included in the Commission or a new name can be decided. Under the Act, a search committee headed by the Union Minister of Law and Justice prepares a list of five candidates.

Rajiv Kumar, who was the Chief Election Commissioner, took over this post in the year 2022. Under his leadership, the Election Commission conducted the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Apart from this, assembly elections were conducted in many states including Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Delhi Assembly elections held this year.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar