Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, new election commissioners assume charge

New Delhi, A day after being appointed as election commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge on Friday. The two newly appointed members of the poll panel are the first lot to be elected after the new law on the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and ECs came into force recently.

Welcoming them, CEC Rajiv Kumar spoke about the significance of their joining at a historic point when the Election Commission is all set to conduct Lok Sabha elections, a spokesperson said.

The need for new poll panel members came after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14 and the sudden resignation of Arun Goel on March 8.



About Gyanesh Kumar
Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala cadre officer has been chosen to be part of the election commission. He was a Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. During his tenure at Home Ministry, Kumar oversaw the abrogation of Article 370.

About Sukhbir Singh Sandhu
A former IAS officer of the 1988 batch from Uttarakhand cadre, Sandhu, originally from Punjab, was named the chief secretary of Uttarakhand when Pushkar Singh Dhami became the Chief Minister of the state in 2021. Sandhu also served as the chairperson of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The sudden appointment of the EC members came after the poll panel was left with only one member, Rajiv Kumar. The two members are joining the commission just weeks before India undergoes intense 18th Lok Sabha polls and assembly polls in a few states.

The EC has been traveling to ensure enough preparations are in place for the Lok Sabha polls.

(with agency inputs)