‘Given 6 names, 10 mins before meet’: PM-led panel picks poll commissioners, Adhir registers dissent

Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has registered his dissent over the selection of former IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as the election commissioners, saying he was not provided with the list of the “short-listed” names in advance. 

Chowdhury is part of the three-member committee which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and includes home minister Amit Shah for the selection of the ECs. He had sought the details of the shortlisted persons on Wednesday, a day ahead of the committee meeting, Indian Express reported. 

After the meeting, the Congress leader said he gave a dissent note, raising questions about the selection procedure.

Speaking to the media, Chowdhury said the meeting was reduced to a “formality” as the government is in majority in the panel. “What they want happens… the Chief Justice of India should have been on this committee.” 

“I was given 212 names, how can someone examine so many candidates in a day? Ten minutes before the meeting, I was given a shortlist of six names. It was fait accompli that the chosen two will be selected,” he said, slamming Modi government for introducing the new law, Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which replaced the CJI by a cabinet minister on the selection committee. 

After the sudden resignation of election commissioner Arun Goel on March 6, weeks before the Lok Sabha polls, and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey, the election commission had two vacancies. 

In a letter to law ministry secretary Rajiv Mani on Wednesday, Chowdhury had sought the “dossier” with the “bio-profiles” of the shortlisted persons. He had also referred to the norms of the selection process.

He had said in the letter, “It will be essential to have the bio-profiles of the persons shortlisted by the Search Committee well beforehand … This will enable in taking a reasoned decision in the matter.” 

But the Congress MP was sent five lists by the government, reportedly covering over 210 names.

As per Indian Express, the list shared with Chowdhury contained the names of 92 officers who have retired as secretary or equivalent, 93 officers serving as secretary or equivalent, 15 officers who retired as chief secretaries of state and UTs over the last one year, and 36 officers serving as chief secretaries in states or UTs.

The six short-listed names, revealed minutes before the meeting, were Utpal Kumar Singh, Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, Gyanesh Kumar, Indevar Pandey, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, and Sudhir Kumar Gangadhar Rahate, all former bureaucrats, as per Financial Express.

Sandhu and Kumar, who were selected, are both 1998-batch former IAS officers from Punjab and Kerala, respectively. 

Sandhu was appointed as the chief secretary of Uttarakhand when Pushkar Singh Dhami became the chief minister in 2021. Meanwhile, Kumar oversaw the abrogation of Article 370 during his tenure in the home ministry. He has also served at the ministry of parliamentary affairs.