IAS Gyanesh Kumar Makes History As First CEC Appointed Under New Appointment Law

New Delhi: IAS Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, replacing the outgoing Rajiv Kumar. The Union Law Minister made the announcement after the selection process concluded at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. 

Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, has been serving as an Election Commissioner since March last year. He will be the first CEC to be appointed under the new law on the appointment of election commissioners. Additionally, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Dr Vivek Joshi has been appointed as an Election Commissioner.

As the CEC of India, Kumar will oversee the poll process in the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, followed by elections in Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu. He will replace Rajiv Kumar, who will demit office on Tuesday after attaining the age of 65. Chief election commissioners have a tenure of six years or until they turn 65, whichever is earlier.

Kumar's name was recommended by a selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Who is Gyanesh Kumar?

Gyanesh Kumar, 61, has had a distinguished career in the civil service. He played a crucial role in drafting the bill that abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Kumar has also served as Joint Secretary (Kashmir Division) in the Home Ministry and as Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry, handling documents related to the Supreme Court case concerning the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Kumar holds a B.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering, Kanpur, and has studied Business Finance from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India. He also pursued Environmental Economics at Harvard University.