 "How Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were selected as election commissioners")
Former bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar have been selected as the new election commissioners (ECs) by a committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader and the sole Opposition member on the panel, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said on Thursday (14 March). These two ECs will assist Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar as the poll body charts up a schedule and prepares for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Objecting to the selection process, Chowdhury told reporters that he gave a dissent note on the appointments of the two ECs as he was not apprised of the names in advance. Besides the PM and the Congress leader, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is a part of the high-powered committee.
Chowdhury said he had asked for a shortlist before the Thursday meeting but was sent the names of 212 candidates last night. “I was given 212 names, how can someone examine so many candidates in a day? Ten minutes before the meeting, I was given a shortlist of six names," NDTV quoted him as saying.
The list included the names of former bureaucrats Utpal Kumar Singh, Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, Gyanesh Kumar, Indevar Pandey, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Sudhir Kumar Gangadhar Rahate, reported PTI.
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More Shorts“Of the six names, the names of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were finalised for appointment as election commissioners,” the Congress leader said.
As per Indian Express, Chowdhury wrote to the government on Tuesday, seeking the “dossier” of “bio-profiles” of the shortlisted persons “well before” the Thursday meeting.
The Congress leader said the government has the majority in the panel, so “they chose the candidates they wanted”, terming the meeting a “formality”.
#WATCH | After the meeting of selection committee to pick the Election Commissioner, the Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, "They (govt) have the majority (in the committee who appoints election commissioner). Earlier, they had given me 212 names, but… pic.twitter.com/90x3uLxGsx
— ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2024
How are election commissioners picked? Why was there a need to select two ECs just months before the crucial Lok Sabha elections? Let’s understand.
Process for selecting Election Commissioners
There are two committees involved in picking Election Commissioners. A three-member search committee led by the Union Law Minister first prepares two separate lists of five names each for the two posts, as per PTI. The home secretary and the Department of Personnel and Training secretary are the other two members of this panel.
Later, the selection committee, headed by the Prime Minister and comprising the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM, picks the final candidates from the five names shortlisted by the screening panel.
The appointments for the posts are then made by the President.
Before the Central government enforced the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Office and Terms of Office) Bill, 2023, the power to make appointments rested solely with the Executive or the Union government.
The Prime Minister was empowered to select the candidates and the President would formally appoint them.
Last March, the Supreme Court ruled that the CEC and ECs will be appointed by the President on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Chief Justice of India (CJI). The court added that this was “subject to any law to be made by Parliament”.
Following the apex court’s judgement, the Centre brought a Bill in Parliament last August laying out the process for appointing Election Commissioners . The legislation, which was passed in December 2023, replaced the CJI with a Cabinet minister nominated by the PM in the three-member selection committee.
The Opposition decried the move saying the composition of the panel was in favour of the government and sidelined the role of the Leader of Opposition, who can be outvoted by the Prime Minister and the Union minister.
The Association for Democratic Reforms and Congress leader Jaya Thakur have challenged this selection process in the Supreme Court. The case will be heard on Friday (15 March).
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The need for picking ECs just before LS polls
The need to pick two ECs ahead of the general elections arose after the surprise resignation of Arun Goel last week and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February left the two posts vacant.
Goel’s resignation was attributed to “personal reasons”. Election Commission sources spoke about “differences on file” between Goel and CEC Rajiv Kumar, reported NDTV.
However, the government dismissed the reports of a dispute between the two.
With inputs from agencies
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