The President of India, on Tuesday, 8 June, appointed retired IAS officer Anup Chandra Pandey as Election Commissioner.
The three-member Election Commission (EC) comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, in addition to the new appointee.
IAS officer Sunil Arora had formerly served as the Chief Election Commissioner. He had retired from the post on 12 April this year, following which Sushil Chandra was promoted to the position, creating a vacancy in the panel.
The EC will supervise the imminent Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Manipur next year.
Who is Anup Chandra Pandey?
The newly-appointed Election Commissioner is a retired IAS officer of the 1984 batch, Uttar Pradesh cadre. He has completed his graduation in Mechanical Engineering and has an MBA degree, as well as a doctorate in Ancient History.
Pandey was earlier the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, before his retirement in August 2019.
As Chief Secretary, Pandey had piloted various policies for the state, such as the farm loan waiver scheme. He was also involved in the organisation of the biggest human congregation, the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj in 2019. He had also been involved in the arrangements of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at Varanasi.
As Joint Secretary Labor, the officer represented India in ILO, G20, and other international summits.
During his 36 years of service, he has also held the positions of Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Finance in the Uttar Pradesh government.
Pandey will retire from office in February 2024.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)