Gyanesh Kumar’s name was proposed by a committee headed by PM Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
President Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the next chief election commissioner. Gyanesh Kumar will replace Rajiv Kumar, who will demit office on Tuesday after attaining the age of 65.
He became the first CEC to be appointed to the post under the new law on appointment of election commissioners. Dr. Vivek Joshi, IAS of the 1989 batch, has been appointed as election commissioner, with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office, according to the announcement.
Gyanesh Kumar’s name was finalised in a meeting of the selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, and Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The committee met at the Prime Minister’s Office in South Block earlier this evening. It recommended the name from among the candidates shortlisted by a search committee.
Who is Gyanesh Kumar?
- Gyanesh Kumar is a Kerala-cadre officer from the 1988 batch who retired as the secretary of the ministry of cooperation in January last year.
- He was secretary in the Amit Shah-led ministry from May 2022.
- Gyanesh Kumar spent five years in the home ministry, first as a joint secretary from May 2016 to September 2018 and then as an additional secretary from September 2018 to April 2021.
- As the additional secretary, he headed the Jammu & Kashmir desk when Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019. According to one government official, he would routinely accompany Shah to Parliament when the bill to nullify Article 370 was to be introduced.
- Gyanesh Kumar, along with Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, was appointed as election commissioner in March last year.
- He holds a B-Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering in Kanpur. Kumar also studied Business Finance at the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India.
Article source: hindustantimes.com
