Two former IAS officers – Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu have been named as the Election Commissioners.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led three member committee on March 14 picked these two to fill the vacancies created after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and the surprise resignation of Arun Goel recently.
Apart from Modi, other two members were – leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and law minister Arjun Meghwal.
The appointment of election commissioners is crucial as the Lok Sabha elections are round the corner.
Who is Gyanesh Kumar?
Gyanesh Kumar is a 1988 batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre. He was on central deputation and had been secretary in the ministry of cooperation led by Amit Shah. Previously, he served as the secretary at the ministry of parliamentary affairs. He is said to have a key role in revocation of Article 370.
Kumar retired from his services in January this year. He is considered close to Amit Shah and was likely to get extension also.
A native of Uttar Pradesh, Gyanesh Kumar had also served as joint secretary and then additional secretary home affairs. Sources said that he was swell aligned with home minister Amit Shah and was hand picked for the being secretary of cooperation when the department was split from agriculture.
Who is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu?
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is also a 1988 batch IAS officer who retired as chief secretary of Uttrakhand in January this year after being granted an extension of six months.
He was appointed the chief secretary when Pushkar Singh Dhami became the chief minister in 2021. He is considered as the main architect of Uniform Civil Code, which has been implemented in Uttrakhand.
Sandhu had earlier served on central deputation as the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India. He also served as additional secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development.
A medico by education, Sandhu also holds law degree and has published several papers on urban development.
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
