Meet Gyanesh Kumar, New Chief Election Commissioner

A 1988-batch retired IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India, the Law Ministry said Monday February 17, 2025

[(from left) New Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, outgoing CEC Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.]

New Delhi: A 1988-batch retired IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India, the Law Ministry said Monday February 17, 2025.

He is the first CEC to be appointed under a new law on the appointment of the members of the Election Commission (EC).

Kumar has been appointed after a meeting of a 3-member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also comprising of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahu; Gandhi.

Chief Justice of India was also part of the committee. However, the Modi government changed the constitution of the committee dropping the CJI from the panel.

The Congress has challenged the government’s decision.

Gyanesh will assume office on Wednesday February 19, 2025, when the Supreme Court will hear the challenge to the new law under which the selection has been made.

During the selection panel's meeting, the LoP, Rahul Gandhi, had asked the government to delay the appointment of the new Election Commissioner till the SC hearing on the matter. The government however ignored his request.

Another appointment in the Election Commission of India is of Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch Haryana-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has been appointed as Election Commissioner in the 3-member poll panel.

About Gyanesh Kumar

Gyanesh Kumar is currently serving as Election Commissioner in the 3-member Election Commission of India headed by the CEC. He will succeed the incumbent CEC Rajiv Kumar.

Kumar - a 1988-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, was born on January 27, 1964 in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

After completing his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, he studied Business Finance in ICFAI, India and Environmental Economics in HIID, Harvard University, US.

He has worked in the government of Kerala as the assistant collector of Ernakulam, sub-collector of Adoor, managing director of the Kerala State Development Corporation for SC/ST, municipal commissioner of the Corporation of Cochin, besides holding other posts.

As a secretary to the government of Kerala, Kumar handled diverse departments, such as finance resources, fast-track projects and the public works department.

In the government of India, he has rich experience of working as the joint secretary in the Ministry of Defence, joint secretary and additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation. He superannuated on January 31, 2024.

(With inputs from PTI)

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