Meet Sushil Chandra, the new Chief Election Commissioner

He was 'at the forefront' of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government’s 'fight against black money'

The Election Commission witnessed a change of guard even as it is in the middle of conducting the assembly polls in the four states – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and West Bengal as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry. Election Commissioner Sushil took over as the new Chief Election Commissioner on Tuesday succeeding Sunil Arora, who completed his term at the Nirvachan Sadan on Monday.

Born on May 15, 1957, Chandra did his B.Tech. from IIT Roorkee (BE Civil, 1977). He received Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater on November 25 2019.

Chandra, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1980 batch, was appointed as the Election Commissioner on February 15, 2019, after his superannuation as the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

He was “at the forefront” of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government’s 'fight against black money” and “spearheaded” action against “tax evasion in the wake of November 2016 demonetization”, according to his profile on the official website of the EC. He held “sensitive posts in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi” during his 38-year-long stint in the Indian Revenue Service.

Read more: Sushil Chandra appointed Chief Election Commissioner

Chandra has been instrumental in the exchange of Best Electoral Practices among the Electoral Management Bodies internationally. In June 2019 he participated in the Presidential Election process of Kazakhstan as an International Election Observer.

He was invited to the 18th Cambridge Conference on Electoral Democracy in the Commonwealth Trinity College, Cambridge, UK in July 2019. He participated in the 3rd Plenary Assembly of Global Network Electoral Justice conference held in Los Cabos, Mexico in November 2019.

Set to demit office on May 14, 2022, Chandra will oversee the remaining four phases of ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal. The final phase will take place on April 29. Votes will be counted and results declared on May 2. In his tenure, Chandra is likely to oversee elections in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Manipur.