Ex-IAS officer Sudhanshu Pandey takes oath as Ladakh's first state election commissioner

Former IAS officer Sudhanshu Pandey took oath as the first state election commissioner of the Union Territory of Ladakh on Saturday, an official spokesperson said.

Lieutenant Governor Brigadier (retired) B D Mishra administered the oath of office to Pandey at the Raj Niwas here, he added.

Pandey, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, is the first election commissioner of Ladakh after it became a Union Territory in 2019.

Retired last year as the Union secretary, department of food and public distribution, Pandey is the common election commissioner appointed for the Union territories of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep, the spokesperson said.

The L-G congratulated Pandey on assuming the charge of the SEC of Ladakh and wished him the best.

Mishra later discussed various issues with the new SEC, including the preparations for the upcoming elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the Union Territory, the spokesperson said.