Gyanesh Kumar new CEC after panel with Modi, Rahul meets

Gyanesh Kumar, a Kerala-cadre officer from the 1988 batch who retired as the secretary of the ministry of cooperation before being appointed as an election commissioner last year, was appointed as India's next chief election commissioner by President Droupadi Murmu in a late night announcement on Monday.

- Saubhadra Chatterji and Abhishek Angad

The announcement came hours after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led selection committee proposed Kumar's name as the top poll official. The selection, however, was not a smooth affair as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, a member of the selection panel, objected to the timing of the meeting as a case related to the constitution of the panel will be heard by the SC on Wednesday.

The panel met earlier in the day to pick a successor to outgoing CEC Rajiv Kumar. Gyanesh Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law that was passed in 2023.

"In exercise of powers conferred by section 4 of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 (Act No. 49 of 2023), the President is pleased to appoint Shri Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioner as Chief Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India, with effect from 19th February, 2025," said a gazette notification by the Union law ministry.

The ministry notification also added that 1989 batch bureaucrat Vivek Joshi, former DOPT secretary, was appointed as an election commissioner.

The selection panel meeting, held at the Prime Minister's office, was also attended by Union home minister Amit Shah and Gandhi, who submitted a dissent note and raised objections to the meeting when the Supreme Court is set to hear a case challenging the law on the process on Wednesday.

The dissent note was prepared with the help of the legal team of the party.

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, treasurer Ajay Maken and party leader Gurdeep Sappal all members of the party's special legal team - later held a presser to argue against the government's decision to hold the selection meeting.