NEW DELHI: Gyanesh Kumar has been chosen as India’s 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will take over from Rajiv Kumar, who is retiring on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, after turning 65.

Rahul Gandhi Opposed the Decision. The selection was made by a high-level panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. However, Rahul Gandhi disagreed with the decision. He wanted the government to wait until the Supreme Court rules on a case related to the selection process.

Despite his objections, the committee finalized Gyanesh Kumar’s name on Monday and sent it to President Droupadi Murmu for approval. The Opposition strongly criticized the timing of this decision because the Supreme Court is set to hear the case on February 19 regarding how Election Commissioners (ECs) are appointed.

Rahul Gandhi's Concerns -According to sources, Rahul Gandhi urged the panel to delay the appointment until the court gives its verdict. He also pointed out that the selection process had been changed recently. Earlier, the committee included:- The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India

However, a recent amendment replaced the Chief Justice with the Home Minister, which Rahul Gandhi believes gives the government more control over the selection.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi accused the government of ignoring the Supreme Court's recommendations by replacing the Chief Justice with the Home Minister in the selection process.

Who is Gyanesh Kumar?

A 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service officer from the Kerala cadre, Gyanesh Kumar was appointed as an Election Commissioner in March last year, and now, he will take over as the Chief Election Commissioner.

As Chief Election Commissioner, he will be responsible for conducting the Bihar Assembly election later this year and the elections in Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu next year.

Gyanesh Kumar is the senior member of the 3-person Election Commission Committee, which was earlier led by Rajiv Kumar. The other member of the Committee is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre.