Gyanesh Kumar appointed as Chief Election Commissioner; Vivek Joshi joins as Election Commissioner

Gyanesh Kumar becomes CEC under new selection committee process

Gyanesh Kumar, an election commissioner since March 2024, was appointed as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Monday, following the seniority convention. This appointment marks the first instance where the selection committee, consisting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, played a role in the decision.

Vivek Joshi joins as Election Commissioner

Vivek Joshi, a 1989 batch IAS officer and current Chief Secretary of Haryana, has been appointed as Election Commissioner, restoring the Election Commission (EC) to its full strength of three members after the retirement of Rajiv Kumar.

Joshi has previously served as:

• Secretary, Personnel, Government of India
• Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
• Leader of Census 2021 preparations (which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic)

As per the seniority principle, Joshi is expected to succeed Gyanesh Kumar as CEC on January 27, 2029, upon Kumar’s retirement at the age of 65.

Rahul Gandhi’s dissent over appointment timing

During the selection committee meeting, Rahul Gandhi submitted a dissent note, requesting the government to postpone the appointment until February 19, when the Supreme Court is set to hear a petition challenging the selection committee’s composition. However, his request was declined.

Key details on Gyanesh Kumar

• Kerala-cadre IAS officer (1988 batch)
• Former Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation (retired January 2023)
• Served in Home Ministry for five years (2016-2021)
• Headed the J&K division during the abrogation of Article 370 (2019)
• Accompanied Amit Shah to Parliament during Article 370 discussions
• B-Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur
• Studied Business Finance at the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India

Selection process under new law

This appointment follows the CEC and Other ECs (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which introduced a collegium-based selection process. Previously, the government solely appointed EC members through an executive order without opposition involvement.

The Supreme Court’s March 2023 ruling directed the government to form a selection committee until Parliament enacted a law, which was formalized in December 2023. The new law provides for a selection panel comprising:

• Prime Minister
• A Minister nominated by the Prime Minister
• Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha

The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the CEC appointment at its last hearing but is set to review the committee’s composition next week.

Joshi’s expected role in 2029 elections and delimitation

At 58 years old, Vivek Joshi will serve as Election Commissioner until February 2030, overseeing the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and various state/UT elections. His past experience as Census Commissioner is expected to be valuable during the delimitation exercise after the 2026 Census, as the CEC or nominee is an ex-officio member of the Delimitation Commission.

With Gyanesh Kumar as CEC and Vivek Joshi joining the Election Commission, the focus remains on electoral transparency, implementation of reforms, and maintaining democratic integrity ahead of major upcoming elections.

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