Gyanesh Kumar to take charge as 26th Chief Election Commissioner on February 19

In this image released by @ECISVEEPvia X on February 18, 2025, outgoing Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar with newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and EC Sukhbir Singh Sandhu during his farewell, at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi. Photo: X/@ECISVEEP
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Senior Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar would take over as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) on February 19, a day when the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition challenging the law under which he was appointed CEC by a three-member panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr. Kumar, a 1988 batch Kerala cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Services, retired as secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation on January 31, 2024.

During his tenure in the Union Home Ministry, he played a key role in the setting up of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Theertha Kshetra Trust. He also headed the Jammu and Kashmir Division in the Home Ministry in 2019 when Article 370 was revoked. He was also Parliamentary Affairs Secretary.

He took over as an Election Commissioner in March 2024 and his term as CEC will end in January 2029.

Mr. Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the provisions of the new law the “Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023”.

Earlier, Election Commissioners and CECs were appointed by the President after recommendations of the government. The law came into effect after the Supreme Court in its ruling in March 2023, had mandated a selection panel be formed and said that it should comprise the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. The court had said the order would hold good until a law was made by Parliament.

The Centre replaced the CJI with a Union Minister in the panel when the law was passed giving a dominant role to the Central government in the appointment process.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear petitions challenging this law on Wednesday.

During his tenure, Mr. Kumar will oversee the crucial Bihar Assembly polls later this year. In 2026, he will oversee Assembly polls in Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. He would also be responsible for conducting the elections for President and Vice-President in 2027.

His appointment on Monday had come hours after the Congress asked the government to defer its decision on the new CEC and EC till the Supreme Court concludes its hearing on a petition challenging the composition of the selection panel. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who was part of the selection panel, submitted a dissent note at the meeting.

Meanwhile, current CEC Rajiv Kumar, who oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the crucial Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, demitted office on Tuesday. His tenure was marked with repeated allegations of bias by Opposition parties.

In his farewell address on Monday, Mr. Rajiv Kumar said he “observed a pattern in the timing of certain narratives”.

“The live reporting of hearing of long-pending cases at critical junctures sometimes fuel distrust that the petitioner intends to create. It would be beneficial if such proceedings are scheduled with due consideration to the election period, ensuring that the electoral process remains smooth and undisturbed. This is a specific expectation of India’s esteemed constitutional courts,” he said.