New Delhi: Ahead of 2019 General Elections, Sunil Arora has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. He is an IAS officer of 1980-batch.Arora will take charge on December 2 and supervise the 2019 General elections. He is a Rajasthan cadre IAS officer. Arora will take charge as the 23rd CEC replacing current CEO OP Rawat. He was brought-in as Election Commissioner in September 2017 to take up the vacancy created by Nasim Zaidi. Sunil Arora's appointment was cleared by President Ram Nath Kovind, as news agency PTI reported citing sources.

Worth mention here Arora was also the Skill Development Secretary ahead of being appointed as the top man in Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Previously the Principal Secretary of Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan, Arora has functioned as the CMD of Air India for five years.

"Yes. His name has been cleared. He is the next CEC. A notification will follow," a superior functionary was quoted as saying by PTI. In addition the Lok Sabha polls, Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are slated to be held next year.

The 62-year-old civil servant has also served as joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation during 1999-2002 and as information and broadcasting secretary, and the secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

It is noted that OP Rawat retired on Saturday. A letter confirming Arora's appointment as the CEC is expected soon.