Amritsar bureaucrat picked up by PM Modi as new election commissioner; another from Kerala
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 14,2024
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led high-level committee Thursday picked retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as the Election Commissioners against the two vacant seats of ECI.
A search committee headed by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal met on Wednesday evening to prepare a panel of five candidates to fill two vacancies of election commissioners in the Election Commission of India.
The Opposition member in the panel, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has registered his dissent questioning the process followed saying the short-listed names of officers were not made available to him in advance.
On February 2024, Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, IAS (1988 Uttrakhand batch) (Retd.) had been appointed as Secretary to the Lokpal on contract basis for a period of one year. He remained Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and retired as chief secretary of Uttrakhand government.
Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu belongs to Baba Bakala in Amritsar. Sandhu born on July 6,1963 ,has done his MBBS from Government Medical College, Amritsar and Master’s Degree in History from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and is also a Law Graduate. After selecting in IAS, he got UP cadre and his first appointment was SDM, Meerut.
Gyanesh Kumar, IAS (retd.) has served as secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. He belongs to the 1988-batch from Kerala.
As per sources around 236 candidates are shortlisted for the two members. Out of these the names of 92 officers who retired as Secretary and Secretary equivalent in Government of India, 93 names of officers serving as Secretary and Secretary equivalent officers in Government of India, 15 officers who retired as Chief Secretaries of state and union territories in last one year, 28 and 8 officers serving as chief secretaries in states and union territories.
Amritsar bureaucrat picked up by PM Modi as new election commissioner; another from Kerala.Based on the recommendation of the selection committee, President Droupadi Murmu will then appoint the two members of the poll panel.
