Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India on Monday with effect from February 19, a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
Gyanesh Kumar’s tenure will end on January 26, 2029.
He is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law on the appointment of election commissioners.
His name as CEC was finalised and recommended to the President by the selection committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
Rajiv Kumar, who was the Chief Election Commissioner before Gyanesh Kumar, was supposed to retire on February 18. He will demit the office on Tuesday on attaining the age of 65 years.
Kumar assumed charge as Election Commissioner on March 15, 2024. Gyanesh Kumar has served as secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. He belongs to the 1988 batch from the Kerala cadre.
The government also appointed Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch Haryana-cadre IAS officer, as Election Commissioner.
