File picture of Gyanesh Kumar assuming charge as an Election Commissioner at the Election Commission of India, in New Delhi, on March 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was appointed as the next chief election commissioner on Monday (February 17, 2025), the Law Ministry said. He 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 January 26, 2029, days before the EC is expected to announce the next Lok Sabha election schedule.
Mr. Kumar was appointed after a meeting of a three-member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
He will assume office on Wednesday (February 19, 2025), when the Supreme Court will hear the challenge to a new law under which the selection has been made.
He was the senior-most Election Commissioner after CEC Rajiv Kumar.
File picture of Gyanesh Kumar (right) during his time as Cooperation Secretary, seen here with Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah and former Union Minister of State for Cooperation B.L. Verma
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Kerala cadre, retired as Union Cooperation Secretary on January 31, 2024. On March 14, 2024, he was appointed Election Commissioner.
During his stint in the Union Home Ministry, Mr. Kumar played a key role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir.
Education and career
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.
Archive picture of Gyanesh Kumar as district collector in Kochi in 2003
.
| Photo Credit:
H. Vibhu
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 January 31, 2024.
Upcoming polls
During his tenure as the 26th CEC, Mr. 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.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – February 18, 2025 06:53 am IST
