Sushil Chandra assumes charge as Chief Election Commissioner; to hold post till May 2022

New Delhi: Sushil Chandra assumed charge as the 24th Chief Election Commissioner on Tuesday. Chandra was appointed as the CEC on Monday, the day Sunil Arora demitted office. Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on 14 February, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He would demit office on 14 May, 2022. Under him, the Election Commission (EC) will hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year. The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on 14 May next year. Chandra belongs to the 1980 batch of the Indian Revenue Service. He is also an ex-officio member of the Delimitation Commission since 18 February, 2020 looking after the process in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Having held several posts in the Income Tax Department for nearly 39 years, Chandra was appointed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman on 1 November, 2016. He spent considerable time as Director of Investigation and Director General of Investigation, Mumbai and Gujarat, respectively followed by his stint as Member (Investigation), CBDT and thereafter assuming the post of Chairman of this apex body. “Transparency and purity of political finance are of vital importance for free and fair electoral process and the creation of a level playing field. Continuing the crusade that he started as CBDT Chairman against the menace of black money, Chandra was proactive as the erstwhile Election Commissioner in curbing the use of money power that vitiates the electoral process,” the Commission said on Tuesday. He has constantly emphasised the concept of “inducement-free” elections and it has become an integral dimension of monitoring the electoral process in all ongoing and forthcoming elections, the EC said.