PM-chaired panel's meet to appoint 2 ECs advanced to March 14: Sources

The selection panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet on Thursday to choose two names for filling vacancies in the Election Commission, sources said.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Leader of thr largest opposition party in Lol Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress) are the other members of the panel.

The EC presently has just one member in Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar after the surprise resignation of Arun Goel on March 9. Earlier in February, Anup Chandra Pandey has retired.

The selection panel is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has a Union minister and the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as its members.

The election commissioners will be appointed by the president.

The sources said the appointment of two new election commissioners is likely to be made by the same day or the next.

They said the notice for the meeting to select one EC was earier sent on Saturday afternoon while Goel's resignation was notified in the evening. The amended notice for selection of two ECs was sent by the Law ministry on Monday evening.

The March 14 notice, the sources said, refers to the postponed meeting of the committee that was to be held on March 7 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Pandey. The fresh notice adds the replacement of Goel who resigned.

Days before the poll panel is expected to announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls, Goel resigned on Friday morning. His resignation was accepted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday and the Union Law Ministry issued a notification to announce it.

This leaves Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the sole member of the poll body.

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

Earlier, another EC Ashok Lavasa had resigned as election commissioner in August 2020. He had given dissent notes on various model code of conduct violation decisions taken by the Election Commission during the last Lok Sabha polls.

A search committee under Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and comprising the Home secretary and the Department of Personnel and Training secretary, will first prepare two separate panels of five names each for the two posts.

Later, the selection committee headed by the prime minister will name two persons for appointment as election commissioners.

Before a new law on the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners 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 the chief election commissioner.

Originally, the commission had only a chief election commissioner. It currently consists of the chief election commissioner and two election commissioners.

Two additional commissioners were first appointed on October 16, 1989, but their tenures lasted till January 1, 1990. Later, on October 1, 1993, two additional election commissioners were appointed.

The concept of a multi-member Election Commission has been in operation since then, with decisions made by a majority vote.

(With PTI Inputs)