The selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which met on Monday evening, is learnt to have recommended the name of the next chief election commissioner to President Droupadi Murmu. Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a senior most official of the three member panel, is expected to take over from Rajiv Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. Kumar’s term ends on February 18 on attaining the age of 65 years.

This comes after the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi asking the government to adjourn the meeting to select the new chief election commissioner until the Supreme Court hears on February 19 a petition on the constitution of the selection panel. The Congress’ statement came soon after a meeting of the three-member selection committee.

Besides Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi are part of the panel which met here. Incumbent CEC Rajiv Kumar demits office on Tuesday on attaining the age of 65 years. Sources said the notification announcing the name of the next CEC could be issued “in the next few hours”. The CEC’s term can last up to six years from the date of appointment, though they must retire upon turning sixty-five, regardless of whether their term has concluded.

This marks the first time a selection panel has been set up to appoint the head of the country’s election watchdog.

Earlier, there was no law passed by Parliament for the appointment of the CEC and ECs. The appointments were done by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Traditionally, the successor to the incumbent CEC has been the next senior-most Election Commissioner. Seniority was usually defined by who was appointed earlier to the Commission.

However, a new law on the appointment of the CEC and ECs came into force last year under which a search committee shortlists five names from among secretary-level officers for consideration and finalisation by the prime minister-led panel. After Rajiv Kumar, Gyanesh Kumar is the senior-most election commissioner. His tenure as Election Commissioner is until January 26, 2029. If Gyanesh Kumar is approved as the next CEC, a new EC could also be appointed to fill the vacancy created by his elevation.

This marks the first time a selection panel has been set up to appoint the head of the country’s election watchdog. The Election Commission (EC) is a three-member body made up of one Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners. Although all three election commissioners are equal, the CEC, like the Chief Justice of India, is the first among equals.

According to sources, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was learnt to have asked the government to defer its decision till the Supreme Court hearing on a petition challenging the composition of the selection panel.

Addressing a press conference soon after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said that by removing the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee, the government has made it clear that it wants control and not preserve the credibility of the Election Commission.

Singhvi did not disclose anything on what transpired in the meeting apart from saying that Gandhi attended it.

Singhvi said the case challenging the new act is pending before the Supreme Court, which has issued a notice, and the matter is now listed for next hearing on February 19. It was just a matter of 48 hours and the government should have approached the apex court for an early hearing of the petition, he said.

“It is our suggestion that the Central government adjourned this meeting until after the hearing and instruct its counsels to appear and assist the court so that the hearing may be an effective one. Only then, can a decision be taken in earnest,” Singhvi said. AICC treasurer Ajay Maken, who also addressed the press conference, said, “The Congress believes that when the SC has indicated that they will hear the case on the constitution of the committee on the 19th, this meeting should have been postponed.”

Singhvi said the essence of the Congress’ stand is that the letter and spirit of the Constitution have to be followed.

“It is necessary that a transparent, balanced, impartial decision is taken, which is in the public interest, and in the interest of democracy. Which can create a level-playing field, which is in the foundation of our republic. This is the stand of the Congress,” he said. Singhvi referred to the Supreme Court judgment in the Anoop Baranwal case in which it said the committee to select the CEC and ECs should have the Chief Justice of India along with the prime minister and the Leader of the Opposition in it.

Quoting the judgment, he said the Election Commissioners, including the CEC, must be chosen not by the executive exclusively. “The executive has the right to form a law, but without understanding the spirit of the judgment, in a rush, within months, the Modi government brought a new law, which did just the opposite. It had provisions for selection totally by the executive,” he said. He said the basic structure of the republic is that there should be an independent Election Commissioner, especially as several allegations and counter-allegations have been made on the poll panel over the last two years.

Kumar, a 1988-batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre, is the senior of the two commissioners on the three-member panel that was led by Rajiv Kumar till he demitted office on Monday. The other commissioner on the panel is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre. Kumar is likely to oversee conduct of the Bihar Assembly election later this year and the polls in Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu next year. Kumar has worked with Union Home Minister Amit Shah before. He retired as secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, which comes under Amit Shah, on January 31, 2024. Before that, he also served as the secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. And, in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, he was posted to the Defence Ministry. Kumar holds a B.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering in Kanpur, and has also studied Business Finance from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India. Additionally, he has also studied Environmental Economics from Harvard University.