In a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior bureaucrat Gyanesh Kumar was appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), succeeding Rajiv Kumar, who is set to retire on Tuesday. The decision, however, was met with opposition from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who voiced his dissent and urged the panel to delay the appointment until the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on petitions challenging the new selection process.
The appointment was made under the recently enacted Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The selection committee consisted of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was chosen by the Prime Minister as the third member. As per the new law, the Chief Justice of India, who was earlier part of the selection process, has been removed from the panel, a move that has drawn criticism from the opposition.
During the meeting, a list of five shortlisted candidates was presented for consideration, with Gyanesh Kumar, the senior-most Election Commissioner after Rajiv Kumar’s retirement, emerging as the final choice. Reports indicate that Gandhi’s dissent note was included in the discussion, but the majority decision prevailed, confirming Kumar’s appointment.
Rahul Gandhi, who had previously criticized the new selection process in Parliament, reiterated his concerns, stating that he had little faith in the system introduced by the government. Before attending the meeting, he had expressed skepticism, claiming that his presence in the panel was merely a formality. “Why am I even going? What is the purpose? I am going to the meeting only to certify what Modiji and Amit Shahji are going to say,” he remarked, emphasizing that the panel was inherently structured in favor of the government.
Gandhi also highlighted that the earlier system included the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India as part of the selection committee, ensuring greater independence in the appointment process. The removal of the Chief Justice from the panel, he argued, was a deliberate move by the government to consolidate control over key constitutional positions.
The Supreme Court is set to hear petitions challenging the new appointment process on Wednesday. The petitions, which emerged from concerns raised between 2015 and 2022, questioned the Centre’s dominant role in appointing Election Commissioners. In an earlier ruling, the Supreme Court had stated that there was never any intention to vest exclusive power in any one entity for these appointments, prompting judicial intervention in the matter. However, the government proceeded with legislative changes that reshaped the selection process, effectively eliminating judicial oversight from the panel.
Before the passage of the 2023 Act, the President of India would make appointments to the Election Commission based on the Prime Minister’s advice. Traditionally, the senior-most Election Commissioner would be elevated to the position of Chief Election Commissioner, maintaining a sense of continuity in the Commission. With the implementation of the new law, the government now wields a more direct influence over the process, a shift that has alarmed opposition leaders and legal experts.
The appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new CEC signals a crucial moment in India’s electoral framework, particularly as the nation prepares for the upcoming general elections. The role of the Election Commission in ensuring free and fair elections remains pivotal, and the debate over its independence is likely to intensify in the coming days. With the Supreme Court set to deliberate on the matter, the controversy surrounding the government’s control over the appointment process is far from over.
