Meet newly appointed Election Commissioner chosen by PM Modi-led panel

A committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar, both former bureaucrats, as the new election commissioners. The decision was made during a meeting convened to fill two vacancies left by Anup Chandra Pandey’s retirement in February and Arun Goel’s resignation the previous week.

Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury, a member of the selection panel, revealed that six candidates were considered for the two positions. These included Utpal Kumar Singh, Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, Gyanesh Kumar, Indevar Pandey, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, and Sudhir Kumar Gangadhar Rahate. However, the process used to narrow down these six from a larger pool of over 200 was not made clear.

Profile of Gyanesh Kumar

Gyanesh Kumar is a retired IAS officer from the 1988 Kerala cadre. He has served in various capacities, including as a secretary in the ministry of cooperation under Amit Shah’s leadership and as a secretary in the ministry of parliamentary affairs.

Profile of Sukhbir Singh Sandhu

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, born in 1963, is a retired IAS officer from the 1998 batch. He has held several significant positions, including the chief secretary of Uttarakhand, the additional secretary in the department of higher education under the ministry of human resource development, and the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Sandhu’s educational qualifications include an MBBS degree from Government Medical College, Amritsar, a Master’s Degree in history from Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, and a law degree. His exemplary service as Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation in Ludhiana, Punjab, earned him the President Medal. He was also awarded the 2001 President of India Medal for his contributions during the Census of India.

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