New Delhi, March 14: The Central government issued a notification on Thursday evening announcing the appointment of two Election Commissioners – Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
The notification stated, “In exercise of powers conferred by Section 4 of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 (Act No. 49 of 2023), the President is pleased to appoint Gyanesh Kumar, IAS (retd), and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, IAS (retd) as Election Commissioners in the Election Commission of India, with effect from the date they assume charge of their office.”
The selection of the former bureaucrats for the poll panel was made by the three-member committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This decision follows the recent resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, with the other Election Commissioner, Anup Chandra Pandey, having retired last month.
The selection panel comprises the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition or the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha, and a designated Union Cabinet minister. Congress leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, represents the largest opposition party on the committee. Besides PM Modi and him, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also present during the meeting.
However, Chowdhury criticized the Centre over the law that replaced the Chief Justice of India with a Union Minister on the selection committee. He mentioned receiving 212 names for scrutiny the previous night, stating, “I reached Delhi last night and the meeting was today at noon. I was given 212 names, how can someone examine so many candidates in a day? Then, I was given six shortlisted names before the meeting. The majority is with them, so they chose the candidates they wanted.”
