CHENNAI: The Election Commission on Monday appointed Sandeep Saxena, Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu, as one of the Deputy Election Commissioners at New Delhi for a period of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He replaces R Balakrishnan.
Since the Assembly elections are few months away in Tamil Nadu, the appointment of new CEO is likely to be announced by the Election Commission within a couple of days. Already, the State government had referred names of three senior IAS officers for the post and the EC is considering them.
Sources said the orders of the EC may reach Sandeep Saxena tonight or latest by Tuesday. “Though the the State government had already given its concurrence for the deputation of Saxena to Central government, it has to issue orders relieving him for taking over his new assignment at New Delhi. Now, it is just a formality. We expect the orders along with the name of the officer to whom the CEO should hand over the charges,” Election Department sources said.
Saxena assumed charge as the CEO of the State on October 29, 2014. A tech-savvy officer, Saxena was responsible for introducing many first of its kind measures in the country.