President appoints former IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as new Election Commissioners

Subject: Polity

Section: National Body

Context:

President Droupadi Murmu appointed retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as new Election Commissioners, based on the recommendations of a selection panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Details:

These appointments filled vacancies left by the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey and the resignation of Arun Goel.
Gyanesh Kumar is set to become the Chief Election Commissioner in February 2025.
- Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988 Kerala cadre IAS officer, has previously worked with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and retired as the Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation.
- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, from the 1998 Uttarakhand cadre, has served as Uttarakhand’s Chief Secretary under Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
The selection process involved a search committee led by the Union Law Minister and a final selection panel including the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and a Union Minister.

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body. The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950. The Commission celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2001.
Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. It currently consists of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
For the first time two additional Commissioners were appointed on 16th October 1989 but they had a very short tenure till 1st January 1990. Later, on 1st October 1993 two additional Election Commissioners were appointed. The concept of multi-member Commission has been in operation since then, with decision making power by majority vote.

Source: TH