New Delhi, Feb 17: A three-member selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Monday to pick the successor of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar who is set to retire on February 18 (Tuesday).

The meeting was held at the Prime Minister's Office in South Block.

PM Modi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, nominated by the Prime Minister, attended the selection committee meeting.

This will be the first appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioner Act, 2023 which came into force in December 2023. S.S. Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar were appointed as Election Commissioners under this provision in March 2024.

The two Commissioners were appointed to fill vacancies created following the resignation of Arun Goel and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey.

Before the introduction of the new statutory provisions for the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners, the senior most among the two remaining Election Commissioners was typically elevated to the top post, following consultations with the outgoing CEC. However, under the revised selection process, appointments are now made based on a majority or consensus decision within the selection panel.

Several PILs concerning the appointment process, especially, for not including the Chief Justice of India in the panel as was the norm earlier, are pending before the Supreme Court.

The apex court has scheduled a hearing for these petitions on February 19.

It would be interesting to see if the three-member selection panel picks up a new CEC or decides to elevate one of the incumbent Election Commissioners to the post.

If they go for the first option, the new CEC will conduct the 2029 Lok Sabha elections since the tenure is six years. The new CEC will conduct the Bihar Assembly elections due this year; Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry polls in 2026; and Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in 2027.

Meanwhile, Congress suggested that the Central Government adjourn the meeting to select the new CEC until the Supreme Court hears the matter slated on February 19.

Congress leader Ajay Maken said, "Today, a meeting related to the election of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) was held. The Congress party believes that since the Supreme Court had said that the matter would be heard on February 19 and a decision would be given on what the constitution of the committee should be like. In such a situation, today's meeting should have been postponed..."

The party also alleged that by removing the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the panel to select CEC, the central government made it clear that it wants control not credibility of the poll body.

--IANS

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