NEW DELHI: The appointment of Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer Prakash Rajpurohit as Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) in the Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to trigger a fresh issue on the allocation of responsibilities within the poll panel, particularly with regard to electoral rolls and information technology (IT) divisions.
The 2010-batch IAS officer fills the vacancy created by Sanjay Kumar, who was prematurely repatriated to his parent AGMUT cadre. The reshuffle assumes significance amid reported concerns raised by Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over the routing of files from the Commission’s IT department, which oversees the digital infrastructure used for electoral-roll management.
After Rajpurohit’s appointment, it remains to be seen if the existing arrangements will stay and how the electoral rolls and IT portfolios will be handled ahead of crucial Assembly polls including in Uttar Pradesh scheduled early next year.
Kumar was in charge of the electoral rolls and IT divisions and had signed the EC’s June 24, 2025, order initiating the SIR of electoral rolls. The two Election Commissioners had reportedly written to the Cabinet Secretary raising concerns that files from IT department head Dr Seema Khanna were not being routed through Kumar. Khanna joined the EC on deputation from the National Informatics Centre in 2025 and heads its IT department, overseeing the Commission’s digital infrastructure, including electoral-roll management systems ERONET.
According to sources in the poll panel, her files were routed through Kumar until she was promoted to Level 15, equivalent to the rank of Additional Secretary. Kumar, meanwhile, held Level 14, corresponding to the rank of Joint Secretary. Following the promotion, Senior DEC Manish Garg issued an internal order directing that her files be sent directly to the Election Commissioners, and after Kumar’s repatriation, Khanna’s files began being routed through Garg.
Rajpurohit’s joining comes at a time when the EC’s internal administrative arrangements have drawn attention.