Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu appointed election commissioners

Bureaucrats Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu have been selected as new election commissioners, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Thursday (March 14).

The Congress leader made the announcement after attending a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint the election commissioners. The meeting was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Have given my dissent note: Chowdhury

Chowdhury said he has submitted his dissent note to the panel as he was not on board with the procedure through which the names of the new election commissioners were finalised.

“I had asked for a shortlist so that I can examine the candidates. But I did not get that opportunity. I reached Delhi at midnight and the meeting was at noon today. I was given 212 names, how can someone examine so many candidates in a day? Ten minutes before the meeting, I was given a shortlist of six names," he told the media.

"It was fait accompli that the chosen two will be selected. However, I tried to intervene in an appropriate manner so as to bolster the institution. That's why, before my arrival in Delhi, I sought a shortlist. They gave me a list of all candidates, numbering 212. Now you can imagine if, in a single night, it is humanly possible for me to examine 212 names and find out the most competent person among them," he said.

Who are Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu?

Both Kumar and Sandhu are retired IAS officers of 1998 batch.

Sandhu, who was an officer of the Uttarakhand cadre, has served as the chief secretary of the state and chairman of the National Highways Authority of India.

Kumar served as a secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Cooperation.

A search committee headed by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had met on Wednesday evening to prepare a panel of five candidates to fill two vacancies of election commissioners in the Election Commission (EC). The names were referred to the selection committee, which finalised the names of Kumar and Sandhu.

Based on the recommendation of the selection committee, President Droupadi Murmu will now appoint the new members of the poll panel.

Once the appointments are notified, they will be the first to have been made under the new law.

What prompted the appointments?

The vacancies were created by the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14 and the surprise resignation of Arun Goel on March 8. His resignation was notified on March 9. This left Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar as the sole member of the poll authority.

Before the new law on the appointment of CEC and ECs came into force recently, the election commissioners were appointed by the [resident on the government's recommendation and as per custom, the senior-most was appointed as CEC.

Clause 2 of Article 324 of the Constitution states that the EC shall consist of the CEC and such number of other election commissioners, if any, as the president may from time to time fix.

Originally, the commission had only a CEC. It currently consists of the CEC and two election commissioners.

Two additional commissioners were first appointed on October 16, 1989, but they had a very short tenure till January 1, 1990. Later, on October 1, 1993, two additional election commissioners were appointed.

The concept of a multi-member EC has been in operation since then, with decision made by a majority vote.

(With inputs from agencies)