Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar are retired IAS officers from 1988 batch.
New Delhi, 14 March 2024
Bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar have been appointed for the two empty slots on the Election Commission of India’s top panel, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said this afternoon.
Mr Chowdhury was a member of the panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that chose two Election Commissioners to help Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the poll body prepares for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. In addition to the Prime Minister and Mr Chowdhury, Union Home Minister Amit Shah sat on the panel.
The six names that were shortlisted were those of former officials Utpal Kumar Singh, Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, Gyanesh Kumar, Indevar Pandey, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, and Sudhir Kumar Gangadhar Rahate. Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Kumar are 1988 batch IAS officers. Mr. Kumar is an IAS officer from Kerala, whereas Mr. Sandhu is from Uttarakhand.
Prior to this, Mr. Sandhu had held senior positions in the government, such as chairman of the National Highways Authority of India and chief secretary of Uttarakhand. Mr. Kumar held the position of secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Cooperation, which was headed by Amit Shah. The two officials have been appointed for the Election Commissioner positions, a day before the Supreme Court considers petitions contesting the selection procedure.
The Supreme Court ordered in March last year that the panel must include the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. However, the Centre later introduced legislation to replace the Chief Justice with a Union Minister. The modification has shifted the process in favour of the Centre.
The Association for Democratic Reforms and Congress politician Jaya Thakur have challenged the procedure in the Supreme Court, and the case will be heard tomorrow.
Prateeksha Kumari is a journalist and strategic communications professional specialising in digital journalism, political reporting, and public affairs. Her work focuses on grassroots issues, governance, and civic developments, with an emphasis on clarity, accuracy, and narrative-driven reporting.
She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla and has qualified the UGC-NET examination, reflecting her academic grounding in media studies and communication research. Her reporting spans politics, public policy, health, education, and socio-economic issues, and she is experienced in bilingual (Hindi and English) content creation tailored to diverse audiences.
Alongside her journalistic work, she brings experience in political communication and public relations, where she has contributed to campaign messaging, media outreach, and narrative building. She has worked on integrated communication strategies across print and digital platforms, combining editorial judgment with audience insight and data-led content approaches.