Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were chosen for the two vacant posts in the Election Commission of India on Wednesday. Congress's leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury informed the media about the bureaucrats' appointment.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
He, however, said the Chief Justice of India should have been part of the selection panel and there was no clarity on how six names were shortlisted from over 200 candidates that are said to have come before the search committee headed by the Law Minister.
The six names shortlisted were that of Utpal Kumar Singh, Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, Gyanesh Kumar, Indevar Pandey, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Sudhir Kumar Gangadhar Rahate, all former bureaucrats.
"Of the six names, the names of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were finalised for appointment as election commissioners," he said.
Kumar is a retired IAS officer of Kerala cadre who oversaw the abrogation of Article 370 as head of the Kashmir Division of Ministry of Home Affairs.
A search committee headed by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal met on Wednesday evening to prepare a panel of five candidates to fill two vacancies of election commissioners in the Election Commission, sources said. A selection committee under Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Thursday noon to finalise the two names.
Based on the recommendation of the selection committee, President Droupadi Murmu will appoint the two members of the poll panel. Once the appointments are notified, they will be the first to have been made under the new law. The law also gives power to the three-member selection panel to appoint a person not short-listed by the search committee.
The vacancies were created by the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14 and the surprise resignation of Arun Goel on March 8. His resignation was notified on March 9.
This leaves Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the sole member of the poll authority.
Before the new law on the appointment of CEC and ECs came into force recently, the election commissioners were appointed by the President on the government's recommendation and as per custom, the senior-most was appointed as CEC.
Clause 2 of Article 324 of the Constitution states that the Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix.
Originally, the commission had only a CEC. It currently consists of the CEC and two election commissioners. Two additional commissioners were first appointed on October 16, 1989, but they had a very short tenure till January 1, 1990. Later, on October 1, 1993, two additional election commissioners were appointed. The concept of a multi-member EC has been in operation since then, with decision made by a majority vote.
