PM-Led Committee to Finalize Election Commissioner Appointments on March 14

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 13th March. The high-powered committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tasked with selecting election commissioners, will convene on March 14 to finalize the appointment of two new Election Commissioners (ECs), according to top sources.

Amended communication from the Law Ministry has been circulated to all panel members, rescheduling the meeting from its previous slot on March 15 at 6 PM to March 14 at 12 noon.

The vacancies arose following the resignation of Arun Goel on Friday and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14. The selection panel includes a Union minister and the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, as its members. The appointment of the election commissioners will be made by the president.

Sources indicate that the appointments are likely to be finalized either on March 14 or the following day.

The notice for the meeting to select one EC was initially sent on Saturday afternoon, coinciding with Mr. Goel’s resignation announcement. The amended notice for selecting two ECs was dispatched by the Law Ministry on Monday evening.

The March 14 meeting agenda includes filling the vacancy left by Pandey’s retirement, along with the replacement for Mr. Goel.

Ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Goel’s resignation was accepted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday, vacating his position in the poll body. With his departure, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar remains as the sole member.

Goel, a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, joined the Election Commission in November 2022, with a tenure extending until December 5, 2027.

The selection process involves a search committee under Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Home Secretary, and the Department of Personnel and Training Secretary, which will prepare two separate panels of five names each for the two posts. The final selection will be made by the prime minister-led committee.

Before the recent law change on the appointment process, election commissioners were appointed by the president upon the government’s recommendation. Traditionally, the senior-most member was appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner.