New Chief Election Commissioner will be chosen ahead of crucial elections and Supreme Court hearing.
New Delhi: With Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar set to retire on February 18, a meeting to elect the new CEC will be held on February 17.
According to sources, the selection committee, comprising of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, is expected to hold a crucial meeting on Monday to decide on Kumar’s successor.
The new CEC will oversee the conduct of the Bihar elections this year, as well as the Assembly polls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Kerala next year.
Notably, the process to elect the new CEC will begin two days before the Supreme Court hears pleas against the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners (ECs) under the 2023 law, which critics and the opposition claim gives the ruling dispensation an upper hand.
Outgoing CEC Rajiv Kumar was appointed to the crucial constitutional post in May 2022. Under his tenure, the Election Commission conducted several elections, including the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and the recent elections in Delhi.
During his tenure, he faced multiple allegations from the opposition, civil society, and others for being biased. He also faced several complaints regarding the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, and others, have blamed the outgoing CEC for not addressing their complaints, which they believe benefitted the ruling dispensation.
While addressing the media, Kumar was known for his ‘poetic’ and ‘sarcastic’ responses. He has always claimed that no one should doubt the credibility of EVMs and that no discrepancies occurred during his tenure.