Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar (Retd.IAS:1988:KL) was appointed as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Monday, succeeding Rajiv Kumar (Retd. IAS:1984:JH), whose tenure ends on February 18, 2025. He was the senior of the two Election Commissioners after Rajiv Kumar. The second Election Commissioner is S.S. Sandhu (Retd. IAS:1988:UK).
Gyanesh Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners. His appointment was announced just hours after a meeting of the Election Committee, comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. During the meeting, Rahul Gandhi submitted a note of dissent against the selection.
As the new CEC, Kumar will oversee upcoming Assembly elections in five states: West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu (opposition-ruled) and Bihar and Assam (NDA-ruled). While Bihar is set for elections later this year, the rest will go to polls in 2026.
Kumar will serve as CEC until January 26, 2029, during which he will preside over 20 Assembly elections, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections in 2027, and preparations for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu were appointed as Election Commissioners on March 14, 2024, assuming office the next day. On March 16, 2024, the Election Commission announced the Lok Sabha election schedule.
Prior to his tenure at the Election Commission, Gyanesh Kumar served in the Union Home Ministry, where he played a key role in drafting the bill that abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.
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