New Delhi – President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. He will replace Rajiv Kumar, who is set to retire on Tuesday upon reaching the age of 65, reported the Hindustan Times.
This appointment marks the first under the newly enacted law governing the selection of election commissioners. Additionally, Dr. Vivek Joshi, an IAS officer from the 1989 batch, has been appointed as an election commissioner. His tenure will commence once he assumes office.
Gyanesh Kumar’s selection was finalized by a high-level committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The committee convened at the Prime Minister’s Office in South Block, where it reviewed shortlisted candidates before finalizing Kumar’s appointment.
Who is Gyanesh Kumar?
Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, retired as the Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation in January last year. Prior to this, he served as Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, working under Amit Shah from May 2022.
His tenure in the Ministry of Home Affairs spanned five years, during which he held key positions, including Joint Secretary (2016-2018) and Additional Secretary (2018-2021). Notably, he played a significant role in handling the Jammu and Kashmir desk when Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019. According to officials, Kumar was actively involved in legislative processes related to the abrogation and frequently accompanied Shah to Parliament during key discussions.
In March 2024, he was appointed as an Election Commissioner alongside Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. Kumar holds a B-Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering in Kanpur and has studied Business Finance at the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India.
His appointment comes at a crucial time, with the Election Commission set to oversee several upcoming state elections and the 2025 Lok Sabha elections.
