NEW DELHI, 18 FEB

Gyanesh Kumar, who as a senior Union Home Ministry official played a key role in the government's move to abrogate provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and setting up the Ram temple trust, will assume the office of the chief election commissioner on Wednesday.

Kumar retired as Secretary in the Cooperation ministry in January 2024 and was appointed as an election commissioner in March 2024. He will become the 26th CEC, a day after incumbent Rajiv Kumar demits office on Tuesday evening.

He along with fellow election commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu was appointed on the same day and was part of the Commission when the 2024 Lok Sabha polls were held.

Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under a new law on the appointment of the members of the Election Commission (EC).

His term will run till 26 January, 2029, days before the EC is expected to announce the schedule of the next Lok Sabha election.

According to law, CEC and ECs demit office on attaining the age of 65 years or completing six years in the poll panel, whichever is earlier. Gyanesh Kumar will turn 65 on 27 January, 2029.

During his tenure as the CEC, Kumar will oversee the Bihar Assembly polls later this year, and the Kerala and Puducherry Assembly polls in 2026.

Similarly, he will oversee the assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which are also due in 2026.

Besides the various assembly polls, he will also oversee the elections for President and Vice-President in 2027.

Kumar played a key role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir during his stint in the Union home ministry.

During his tenure in the ministry, he had also played a key role in setting up the Ram Temple trust post the Supreme Court verdict. He is also learnt to have closely monitored the SC hearings on Ram temple on a regular basis.

His appointment on Monday had come hours after the Congress asked the government to defer its decision on the new CEC and EC till the Supreme Court concludes its hearing on a petition challenging the composition of the selection panel.

Kumar is a 1988-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer.

After completing his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, he studied Business Finance in ICFAI, India and Environmental Economics in HIID, Harvard University, US.

He has worked in the government of Kerala as the assistant collector of Ernakulam, sub-collector of Adoor, managing director of the Kerala State Development Corporation for SC/ST, municipal commissioner of the Corporation of Cochin, besides holding other posts.

As a secretary to the government of Kerala, Kumar handled diverse departments, such as finance resources, fast-track projects and the public works department.

In the government of India, he has rich experience of working as the joint secretary in the Ministry of Defence, joint secretary and additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation. He superannuated on 31 January, 2024.