The Ministry of Law announced late on Monday night through a gazette notification that Gyanesh Kumar, the Election Commissioner, has been appointed as the country's next Chief Election Commissioner, and Dr. Vivek Joshi, Haryana's Chief Secretary, has been named Election Commissioner. Gyanesh Kumar is the first CEC appointed under the new law, succeeding Rajiv Kumar, who retired on February 18. This appointment came hours after a high-level committee meeting chaired by the Prime Minister.
The three-member panel involved in selecting the CEC included PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi had requested that the government defer the CEC appointment until the Supreme Court decided on petitions challenging the new appointment process. Gyanesh Kumar's tenure will continue until January 26, 2029. It is expected that he will retire after announcing the schedule of the next Lok Sabha elections.
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IAS Gyanesh Kumar from the 1988 batch
IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar from the 1988 batch of the Kerala cadre was born on January 27, 1964, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. He completed his early education at Queen's College Varanasi and Calvin Taluqdar's College in Lucknow. Subsequently, he earned a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur, a Post-Graduation in Business Finance from ICFAI, and another Post-Graduation degree in Environmental Economics from Harvard University. Kumar has served in many capacities, including as the Assistant Collector of Ernakulam and Deputy Collector of Adoor in Kerala, Managing Director of the Kerala State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, and Municipal Commissioner of the Cochin Municipal Corporation.
As a Secretary to the Government of Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar handled various departments, including Finance Resources, Fast-Track Projects, and Public Works Department. In the Government of India, he has experience as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Secretary in Parliamentary Affairs, and Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation. He retired as Cooperation Secretary to the Government of India on January 31, 2024, and was appointed as an Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India on March 14, 2024.
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Played key role in Ram Mandir Committee
Gyanesh Kumar, as India's 26th CEC, will oversee the Bihar Assembly elections at the end of this year, and the Kerala and Puducherry Assembly elections in 2026. Similarly, he will oversee the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal scheduled for 2026. During his tenure at the Union Home Ministry, he played a significant role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also a member of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Construction Committee, chaired by former IAS Nripendra Mishra, and was appointed by the Central Government as its representative in the Shri Ram Mandir Trust. He played a decisive role in selecting the idol of Lord Shri Ram to be installed in the Ram Temple.
Vivek Joshi, from the 1989 IAS batch
Following Gyanesh Kumar's appointment as Chief Election Commissioner, Vivek Joshi was named Election Commissioner. He is a 1989 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre. Joshi (58) will serve until 2031 as per the law, which allows a Chief Election Commissioner or Election Commissioner to serve in the Election Commission of India until reaching 65 years of age or completing a six-year tenure, whichever comes first. Former Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi joined the central deputation in January 2019.
Vivek Joshi earned his PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute Geneva, Switzerland, under the guidance of Professor Richard Baldwin. He is an alumnus of Roorkee University (now, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee), where he completed his BE in Mechanical Engineering in 1987. Joshi served as Haryana's Chief Secretary and was appointed Secretary in the Ministry of Finance on the central deputation on November 1, 2022.
