ECI: Modi Panel Finalises Name to Succeed CEC Rajiv Kumar, Rahul Gandhi Submits Dissent Note

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Feb 17: The three-member selection committee led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint the successor of the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, who is retiring on Tuesday, met on Monday evening and has reportedly finalised a name for the appointment.

Government sources said on Monday evening that the notification announcing the name of the next CEC could be issued “in the next few hours.” The committee comprises Mr Modi, a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the PM and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

However, Congress suggested that the government adjourn the meeting to select the CEC until hearing by the Supreme Court.

Congress leader Ajay Maken, at a press conference on Monday 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 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…”

While Rahul Gandhi was seen attending the meeting, Congress alleged on Monday that by removing chief justice of India (CJI) from the panel to select CEC, the central government made it clear it wanted control and not concerned about credibility of the poll body.

The Congress objected to the selection of the successor of the CEC when the law for appointment to post has been challenged in the Supreme Court. Mr Gandhi attended the meeting with Mr Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the evening to pick a successor to Rajiv Kumar but only submitted a dissent note, saying the meeting should not have been held since the matter is pending in the Supreme Court, and left.

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, who was also at the press conference, said the Chief Election Commissioner and the Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Office, Terms of Office), Act 2023, creates “a partisan mechanism” for the selection of Election Commissioners.

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“At the outset, we cannot ignore that this Committee is in clear and direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Judgement of March 2nd, 2023 where a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India declared that the CEC and the EC’s should be appointed by a Committee comprising of the PM, the LOP and the CJI,” Mr Singhvi said.

Abhishek Singhvi said the top court, highlighting the need for the independence of the Committee that appoints Election Commissioners, had said “the executive alone being involved in the appointment, ensures that the Commission becomes and remains a partisan body and a branch of the executive. The independence of the Commission is intimately interlinked with the process of appointment.”

“The Election Commissioners, including the Chief Election Commissioner blessed with nearly infinite powers and who are to abide by the fundamental rights, must be chosen not by the Executive exclusively and particularly without any objective yardstick,” Singhvi said quoting the court order

Following Rajiv Kumar’s exit, Gyanesh Kumar will become the senior-most election commissioner, with his tenure extending until January 26, 2029. Sources cited in news reports said Gyanesh Kumar could be the next Chief Election Commissioner of India.

To streamline the selection process, the central government recently established a search committee under the leadership of Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

But sources said the government did not want to postpone the selection process as it would leave a vacancy in the poll commission. The court had not stayed the appointment and legal opinion was sought and given and the committee headed by PM was told to go ahead, sources said.

“When the Supreme Court has indicated that it would be hearing the matter, we wanted the meeting to be postponed. The legal team of the Congress has also endorsed the decision,” the Congress said. Sources in the Congress said, ‘We can’t operate in ego and the meeting has to be postponed so that the Supreme Court takes an early decision.”

Traditionally, the President of India appoint the Chief Election Commissioner — seen as the first among equals – on the advice of the Prime Minister. Also traditionally, the senior-most of the two remaining election commissioners is appointed CEC. Going by that rule, Gyanesh Kumar is likely to be appointed as CEC.

But this time, the new CEC is expected to be appointed under a new law- Chief Election Commissioner And Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service And Term of Office) Act, 2023. Under this, a committee headed by the law minister has to shortlist five candidates and the selection team – the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and a cabinet minister has to make the final selection.

This law, however, has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The contention is that the inclusion of a cabinet minister instead of the Chief Justice, as was expected, robs the panel of neutrality. This new law was made after the Supreme Court, following a clutch of petitions, ruled in 2023 that a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India would select the Election Commissioners and the CEC until Parliament enacted a law.

In December 2023, a new law was passed that changed the composition of the selection committee, replacing the Chief Justice of India with a “Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.” The CEC’s term can last up to six years from the date of appointment, though they must retire upon turning sixty-five, regardless of whether their term has concluded.