PM Modi-led panel selects 2 new election commissioners
Bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar have been chosen to fill two vacant positions in the Election Commission of India, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announced on Thursday. The appointments were made by a panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The new commissioners were appointed to fill the vacancies at the ECI following Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement in February and Arun Goel's surprise resignation last Saturday.
Why does this story matter?
Goel's departure had left the ECI with just one member—Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Now, the new commissioners will work alongside Rajiv in preparing for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Notably, these are the first appointments to be made under the new law—Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. Before the new law came into force, election commissioners were appointed by the President on the government's recommendation and as per custom.
Who are the 2 new ECs
Both Sandhu and Gyanesh are retired Indian Administrative Services officers from the 1988-batch. Sandhu is from the Uttarakhand cadre and has held important government positions, such as chief secretary of Uttarakhand and chairman of the National Highways Authority of India. Gyanesh, from the Kerala cadre, has served as secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Cooperation.
Chowdhury criticizes selection process
Chowdhury criticized the selection process, saying he was given 212 names for review last night and had asked for a shortlist to examine the candidates. However, he wasn't given a chance to do so. "The majority is with them...they chose the candidates they wanted," he said. He also hit out at the new law which replaces the Chief Justice of India with a union minister on the selection committee, adding that the CJI should have been on the panel.
Candidates proposed for election commissioner appointments
According to reports, several names had been proposed for the EC positions, including senior bureaucrat Tarun Bajaj, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, and former Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan. Other candidates included former UIDAI head Rajesh Bhushan, former Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra, and former CBDT chiefs PC Modi and JB Mohapatra. Notably, a full three-member Election Commission is essential as general elections approach.
Controversy surrounding Election Commissioners Act
A clutch of petitions contesting the constitutionality of the 2023 law are currently pending in the Supreme Court. Several opposition leaders and activities have raised concerns over the removal of the CJI from the selection panel for election commissioners. A plea filed by Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jaya Thakur has urged the court to suspend appointments under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
