New Delhi: Sushil Chandra on Tuesday took charge as the 24th Chief Election Commissioner. He was appointed as the CEC on Monday, the day Sunil Arora demitted office.
Chandra, 63, who was appointed Election Commissioner in February 2019, weeks before the Lok Sabha election, replaces Sunil Arora as India’s top poll official. During his term in office he will oversee the conduct of polls in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur.
While the terms of assemblies in Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Manipur are set to end March 2022, the term of Uttar Pradesh Assembly will end in May 2022.
Before his two-year tenure as an Election Commissioner, Sushil Chandra was Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and, since his appointment, has worked on 10 state elections.
Chandra ascends to the Election Commission’s top post at a time when it is being fiercely criticised for failing to apply the rules evenly – to both the ruling BJP and opposition parties.
