Gyanesh Kumar named chief poll commissioner overruling Rahul Gandhi’s dissent

Gyanesh Kumar was appointed the chief election commissioner on Monday hours after Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi submitted a dissent note at the selection meeting.

Gyanesh Kumar has been the election commissioner since March 2024 and his elevation as the poll panel’s chief will take effect on Wednesday.

Rajiv Kumar, the current chief election commissioner, will retire on Tuesday.

Gyanesh Kumar was the secretary in the parliamentary affairs ministry between 2021 and 2022, when he became the secretary in the cooperation ministry. His tenure as poll panel chief will conclude on January 26, 2029, PTI reported.

President Droupadi Murmu also appointed Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi as an election commissioner to fill the vacancy created in the three-member poll panel by Rajiv Kumar’s retirement. Joshi, an Indian Administrative Service officer, had taken up the post in Haryana in November.

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, appointed to the poll panel alongside Gyanesh Kumar in March 2024, is the other election commissioner.

This came hours after the meeting of the selection committee where Gandhi asked the Union government to defer the appointments until the Supreme Court decides on the petitions challenging the selection process under the new law. The dissent note submitted by Gandhi was included in the proceedings of the meeting, The Indian Express reported quoting unidentified officials.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the challenge…

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