A selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet early next week to finalize the successor of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar.The meeting, which will also include Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and a Union Cabinet minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, nominated by the prime minister, is expected either on Sunday or Monday.
Kumar’s term as CEC ends on February 18. The selection committee will recommend a candidate from a shortlist drawn up by a search committee.
The president will the make the final appointment of the new CEC on the basis of this recommendation.
Gyanesh Kumar, the senior-most election commissioner, and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu are among the possible candidates for the post.
According to the law, the CEC and ECs will be appointed by the president on the recommendation of a selection committee headed by the prime minister.