February 18, 2025: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. He will replace Rajiv Kumar, who is set to retire on Tuesday upon attaining the age of 65.

Gyanesh Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law governing the selection of election commissioners. Alongside his appointment, Dr. Vivek Joshi, an IAS officer from the 1989 batch, has been named as an election commissioner, effective from the date he assumes office.

The decision was made in a meeting of the selection committee, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The panel also included Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The meeting took place at the Prime Minister’s Office in South Block, where Gyanesh Kumar’s name was finalized from a shortlist prepared by a search committee.

A 1988 batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, Gyanesh Kumar has an extensive administrative background. He retired as the Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation in January last year. Prior to that, he served in the Home Ministry for five years, first as a Joint Secretary (2016-2018) and later as an Additional Secretary (2018-2021). Notably, he was in charge of the Jammu & Kashmir desk during the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

His educational background includes a B-Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering, Kanpur. Additionally, he has studied Business Finance at the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India.

With his vast experience in governance and policy-making, Gyanesh Kumar is expected to lead the Election Commission in ensuring free and fair electoral processes in the country.