(L-R) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar. (File images: X)
The selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, both IAS officers of the 1988 batch, for the vacant posts
A postgraduate from Harvard, who worked with union home minister Amit Shah since the beginning of his stint in 2019 and a doctor who was posted as a secretary in the departments of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Personnel and Training, and Lokpal – all under the Prime Minister’s Office – in early February, were picked as election commissioners of India on Thursday. The development followed a meeting of the EC (election commissioner) selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, both IAS officers of the 1988 batch, were named by the PM-led committee.
The move comes just ahead of the upcoming general elections. The process was necessitated following the sudden resignation of election commissioner Arun Goel, an IAS officer of the 1985 batch. He served as the secretary of various crucial ministries under the government of India, including heavy industries and culture, before being appointed one of the two election commissioners in the three-member commission, which also has the chief election commissioner. With Goel’s exit, both positions fell vacant as former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey’s term as election commissioner ended last month.
Gyanesh Kumar
Senior IAS officers, who served with him and officers who retired, credit Gyanesh Kumar for the extensive research and finding the legal functionalities for the abrogation of Article 370 sections. Within four months of Kumar assuming office, home minister Amit Shah announced the step in Parliament that stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its “special status”. Kumar was posted as an additional secretary in the ministry.
According to the executive record sheet of Gyanesh Kumar, accessed by News18, the IAS officer of the Kerala cadre became a chartered financial analyst (CFA) from a private institute and pursued higher studies from IIT Kanpur, followed by a postgraduate degree in economics from Harvard University.
He served across ministries including defence under the UPA government and home affairs under the Modi government. Barring a brief tenure as the resident commissioner of his cadre state, Kumar served under the central government from 2007 until his retirement in January.
He served in the defence ministry for five years, between 2007 and 2012, and as the resident commissioner for the next four years. Since 2016, he served under the MHA in several capacities except his two pre-retirement years, when he was secretary, agriculture, cooperation, and cooperatives. Gyanesh Kumar is among a few senior IAS officers who worked with Shah for a long time at the Centre.
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu
Sandhu, an IAS officer of the Uttarakhand cadre, served as the state’s chief secretary between 2021 and 2023. He is said to have supervised the ideation and drafting of the Uniform Civil Code in the state.
Sandhu completed his MBBS from Amritsar Medical College and pursued a master’s degree in History later.
He was sent on central deputation this year and was appointed secretary of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Personnel and Training, and Lokpal early in February. His executive record sheet mentions his tenure ending in February 2025.
